THE IMPACT OF INTRODUCTION OF GLOBAL SYSTEM FOR MOBILE COMMUNICATION (GSM) ON THE NIGERIA ECONOMY

Background of the Study It a crystal clear that without communication, there would be no society. Communication gives room for peaceful co-existence among human being. That is why there are series of school of thoughts on the concept of communication. Development and growth of any country depends on the mode of communication of international relations, that is why most countries of the world has its own official language. This shows that communication is pertinent in all human activities and development. Communication has been defined variously by academic scholars and students, but the older meaning of the term in English can be summarized as passing of ideas, information and attitudes from person to person. Prior to the emergence of the Global System for Mobile Telecommunication (GSM), table telephone and cellular phones existed in Nigeria. The telephone industry was monopolized by the government during pre-liberalization period at it was thought that only the government had the funds to develop the nation’s telephone infrastructure. Before independence in 1960, telephone access was first developed in 1886 to provide a telecommunication links between British Colonial administration in Nigeria and their home country, Britain (Ajayi, Salawu and Raji, 1999). Thus, telephone access was severely limited to these few administrators.