THE TRUTH ABOUT GSM

                                                                                 

                                                           Telecommunication mast

 

The deregulation of the telecommunication sector in 2001 by the government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo dismantled the hegemonic monopoly of the then Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) which was established in 1985. The liberalization of the telecommunication sector birthed the advent of the Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM). This led to the coming on board of MTN Nigeria Limited, Airtel, Globacom and 9mobile. That was 17 years ago! The decontrol of NITEL freed Nigerians from the unbearable and stranglehold of its employees that hitherto perceived and treated Nigerians a little higher than slaves in their own country. Before the advent of GSM, to make calls within and to outside the country, one would have to wake as early as 4 am to queue up in some NITEL designated call centres.