Life is no more what it used to be with the arrival of mobile telecommunications in Nigeria
Since the Global System for Mobile Communication, GSM, revolution in Nigeria in 2001, the Nigerian mobile phone market has been of great attraction for phone manufacturers and vendors. this can be attributed to the high number of phone users in the country. from just 100,000 in the first year of GSM in Nigeria, the subscription has grown to more than 81 million as at August 2010. Phones have now altered the way Nigerians think and live their lives.
With a GSM phone, for instance, the user can make calls, chat or send short message service, SMS, to friends, relations or business partners. With a phone, a user can scroll to the calculator and work out some complex calculations or check the calendar to make sure that his appointment is properly booked.
There are more sophisticated phones which a user can use to check emails, facebook or tweeter. Some phones can be used to carry out banking transactions, video events and many other things. Today, a moderately sophisticated handset has a television, radio, computer and still camera. Emmanuel Amos, a computer programmer and an IT consultant, explained what his phone can do for him. “as a computer programmer and an IT consultant, there are so many things I use my Blackberry for. I did not buy it for the fun of it but for its contributions to ease my job.” as my job entails, I install a package known as INTEGRA 2000+, an accounting and stock broking software, so with my BB, I receive requests from clients who may want this software in their computers. And since I am always on the field, I cannot be carrying my laptop about, so wherever I am and I receive a request, I go there immediately to install,” Amos said.
There is no doubt that businesses have now improved with the emergence of smarter phones. even the running costs of such businesses have dropped dramatically because the transportation and long distance constraints which used to constitute present problems, are no longer there. for instance, Andrew Ochu, a market researcher, said he uses his BB not only to surf the internet for leisure but also to get market information on the trend in the market and also to keep contact with clients on products that may be in demand. he, therefore, does not need to leave his house or office to transact business with his clients.
But some others use big phones just to keep up with the Joneses. Gbenga Fabusuyi, an estate agent, confessed that he initially bought his smart phone simply because it was the vogue then. “I am saying this because I do not really earn much so I am not supposed to be using such an expensive phone,” he said.
Edward Sylvestre, a technician, is another phone freak who uses four phones. he said phones have become part of his life and he cannot live without them. he said he uses his Nokia 5330 DSTV mobile to watch news and other television programmes of his interest while his other phones like Nokia 1208, Tecno SD51, and ZTE etisalat dual sim, keep him connected to all the networks available on the GSM.
For Moses Amos, a secondary school student, listening to music is what gives him real value for his BB bold 2. “I listen to music with it because with the BB, there is a cool melody that comes with music. It does not scream or bang like other phones. Music is cool on BB. Also, I chat and send mails to friends. I also use facebook and tweeter,” Amos said.
but Chimdalu Onyemelukwe, a lawyer and member of National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, said her N75, 000 worth BB gives her a run for her money. according to her, it is easy to get quick access to her mail box and do research work. “for example, recently I was working on a research and I needed a section of the 1999 constitution which I was able to get easily with my BB. I also use it for confirmation of either a speech or a document. In the area of connectivity, my BB enables me to find my old friends via facebook and twitter. I also use it for offloading of pictures, for example, there was a time I was searching for jobs on a website and my passport was required. I just went to offload it from my picture gallery and pasted it on the site. I also check currency value of countries in the world with my BB,” she said.
Cell phones have sufficiently altered the lifestyles of Nigerias who can no longer do without them owing to their enormous features and huge variety of accessories. PC World, an IT consulting firm, recently listed 10 of the most admired phones that have altered the lifestyle of Nigerians. they are: Apple iPhone 4 32GB, HTC EVO 4G, Motorolla Droid X, HTC Droid incredible, Google Nexus one, Samsung Captivate, Motorola Droid, Apple iPhone 3GS, Blackberry Bold 9700 and Palm Pre plus.
Like most technologies, GSM phones have also gone through several stages of development. There were some technological developments on cellular phones that ushered in automated cellular network, otherwise known as first Generation phones. what distinguished the first Generation of mobile phones from the previous generation was the use of multiple cell sites, and the ability to transfer calls from one site to the next as the user travelled between cells during a conversation. the first generation system was first launched in Japan by NTT in 1979. the initial launch network covered the full metropolitan area of Tokyo’s over 20 million inhabitants with a cellular network of 23 base stations. within five years, the NTT network had been expanded to cover the whole population of Japan and became the first nationwide 1G network.
In the 1990s, the ‘second generation’ (2G) mobile phone systems emerged, primarily using the GSM standard. these differed from the previous generation by using digital instead of analog transmission. the rise in mobile phone usage as a result of 2G was explosive and this era also saw the advent of prepaid mobile phones. Coinciding with the introduction of 2G systems was a trend away from the larger “brick” phones toward tiny 100–200g hand-held devices.
This change was possible not only through technological improvements such as more advanced batteries and more energy-efficient electronics, but also because of the higher density of cell sites to accommodate increasing usage. the latter meant that the average distance transmission from phone to the base station shortened, leading to increased battery life whilst on the move.
the second generation also introduced a new variant of communication called SMS or text messaging. the first machine-generated SMS message was sent in the UK on December 3, 1992, followed in 1993 by the first person-to-person SMS sent in Finland. the advent of prepaid services in the late 1990s soon made SMS the communication method of choice amongst the young, a trend which spread across all ages. the 2G also introduced the ability to access media content on mobile phones. In 1998, the first downloadable content sold to mobile phones was the ring tone, launched by Finland’s Radiolinja (now Elisa).
As the use of 2G phones became more widespread and people began to utilise mobile phones in their daily lives, it became clear that demand for data services (such as access to the internet) was growing. furthermore, experience from fixed broadband services showed there would also be an ever increasing demand for greater data speeds. the 2G technology was nowhere near up to the job, so the industry began to work on the next generation of technology known as 3G. the main technological difference that distinguishes 3G technology from 2G technology is the use of packet switching rather than circuit switching for data transmission.
Reported by Dike Onwuamaeze and Cinderella Amos