HOW the entry of the global system for mobile (GSM) 10 years ago has helped to rev the economy of Africas most populous country of 150 million will be the fulcrum of discussions by stakeholders at a one-day A Decade of GSM Forum slated to hold in August and to be organised by the ICT Publishers Alliance in association with the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC).Nigerias much touted mobile telecommunication revolution started 10 years ago to begin a positive process that has impacted in virtually all sectors of the economy including the financial, oil & gas, health and education sectors among others. Active players in the market of nearly 90 million subscribers include MTN Nigeria, Bharti Airtel Nigeria, Globacom Nigeria and Etisalat Nigeria.According to a 2010 findings by the London based Pyramid Research the annual revenue from mobile services represents about four per cent of Nigerias Nominal GDP while that of many African countries is between two per cent and seven per cent to indicate a rising influence of the telecom sector in the overall performance of economy. Apart from leading the continent, Nigeria is one of the worlds most outstanding successes in terms of uptake of mobile telephony since the service was first launched in August 2001.Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah, expected to be one of the chief speakers at the 10th Anniversary GSM Forum, described the GSM revolution as one of the most outstanding landmarks of the countrys political democratization and the consequent shift to economic liberalization.With only about 400,000 lines in 2001, with a dismal 0.4 teledensity, the number of active lines by end of January 2011 stood at 89.8 Million lines, resulting in an impressive teledensity of 64.16. In terms of growth, Nigeria is ranked the largest and fastest growing telecom market in Africa and among the ten fastest telecom growth markets in the world, an indication of its robustness to return on investments.From a private sector investment of about US$50 Million in 1999 when the current democratic regime came in place, the telecom industry in Nigeria has by end of 2009, attracted more than US$18 Billion in private sector investments, including Direct Foreign Investment. More than N300 Billion has been contributed to the coffers of the federal Government through Frequency Spectrum sales, enabling government to plough back revenues earned from the sector for provision of development infrastructure at the various levels of government, said Juwah.The ICT Publishers Alliance consists of the premier media organisations focusing exclusively on the ICT sector.They include eWorld, CommunicationsWeek, IT Edge News.Com, IT World, and eBusiness Life. The Alliance announced in Lagos, at the weekend, series of activities including the A Decade of GSM Forum it has designed in partnership with other stakeholders to commemorate one of the major highlights of technological transformation that has re-shaped most of Nigeria and Africas economies for good.It is noteworthy that Nigeria has become the leading light in economic change through the radical uptake of mobile phones, said Aaron Ukodie, CEO of Ajomedia and publishers of eWorld.Celebrating 10 years of GSM in Nigeria equals celebrating a decade of economic advancement in another sector outside of the crude oil industry, said Mrs. Ufuoma Daro CEO and Editor of eBusiness Life.Commenting further, Barrister Enyi Moses, publisher of IT World said When we look at the tremendous progress achieved in other sectors such as the finance and banking sector, we see the overall impact of the telecommunications sector and how it has translated in the changes that have driven the financial market,.The ICT Publishers Alliance said a mix of right policy thrusts, proactive regulatory disposition, massive in flow of offshore investment and governments willpower has ensured sustainable growth in the countrys telecommunications sector.The result has been increased participation of Nigeria in the global telecommunications market with over 85 million subscribers said Mr. Ken Nwogbo, CEO/editor-in-chief Nigeria CommunicationsWeek .The GSM revolution opened a new vista for economic growth that was unprecedented, said Mr. Segun Oruame, CEO of Know-How Media and publishers of IT Edge News.Com.
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