CONTRIBUTION OF THE COMMUNICATION SECTOR TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA
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CONTRIBUTION OF THE COMMUNICATION SECTOR TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA
Chapter one
1.0 Background of the Study
More over a century ago, people and news travelled by sailing ship, taking months to reach various parts of the world. Advances in the first 60 years of the twentieth century boosted both communication and travel. Over the last three decades, the rate of change in communication technology has accelerated.
The globe has witnessed a communication revolution that has fundamentally altered the way business decisions are made and handled.
Three decades ago, telephone lines were laboriously and unreliably linked by operators, whereas satellites were simply being. found, photocopying and telecopying were virtually unknown, mail was the only way to send hard copies, and delivering them to international destinations often took weeks, computers were in their infancy, and jets were just starting to replace the considerably slower and less reliable propeller aircraft.
Today/direct dialling is available to most parts of the world, at a fraction of what long distance cells cost 30 years ago. Fax, satellite links, fast jet travel, computer networks, cheap courier services, internet, E-mail, mobile cellular, and a host of other technologies have made communication reliable and often instantaneous around the world.
This revolution in the communication industry has made a significant contribution to the development of what has become known as the global village, of which Nigeria is still struggling to be a part.
According to the Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary (Special Price Edition), communication is the act of passing messages across, making things known, or expressing one’s feelings through a medium.
Effective communication and network are the foundations of any nation. Effective communication networks help to accelerate various economic activities such as trade, information networks, security, banking, and other business transactions, which has all aided competition, industrialization, and improved technology, which also increases the Gross National Product (GNP) of nations.
Communication also supports the distributive channel, as it is well recognised that production does not end until the items and services created reach the final consumer. To do this, a solid and effective communication network is required.
The Nigerian communication industry is divided into three sub-sectors: Nigeria Telecommunication Limited (NITEL), Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST), and Nigeria Mobile Telecommunication (M-tel), each of which is managed and controlled by the Nigerian government.
The 1998 order of October 25 on privatisation and commercialization of government establishments allowed for the privatisation and commercialization of government, of which Nigeria’s communication industry is not an example.
Nigeria’s communication industry had one of its sub-sectors commercialised, NITEL, while all other sectors, including NIPOST and NITEL, were deregulated in 1992.
According to the decree, privatisation is the sale of government-owned shares to the general public or private sector, whereas commercialization is the removal of government subsidies in the public sector, allowing such organisations to operate profitably. Recently, the NITEL and M-TEL sub-sectors of Nigeria’s communication industry were privatised.
Nigeria Telecommunication Limited (NITEL) is a public telecommunications operator whose responsibilities include providing basic network facilities to all parts of the country, overseeing the national network, and performing the functions of a national carrier.
Other services include faxing and high-speed networking.
Nigeria Mobile Communication Limited (M-TEL), which was separated from NITEL in 1996, only provides mobile telephone services.
Nigeria Postal Services (NIPOST) is a national carrier of all types of mail for both domestic and international delivery. i Other services supplied include courier service and retailing, advertising using billboards, agency services, offering a central workshop, etc.
Finally, the Nigerian Communication Commission (Nee). This body governs the activities of Nigeria’s communication industry.
The communication network as a facilitator of economic development has had a gradual impact on the Nigerian economy. This is due to the government’s industry-related problems, which include foreign exchange constraints, poor management of available infrastructures, inadequate network distribution, bad sector management, and undercapacity.
The Nigerian communication industry has 700,000 installed capacity, of which 450,00 lines are connected, which is less than the recommended teledensity of one telephone per hundred people.
This implies that with a population of approximately 120 million people, at least 1.2 million telephone lines are required, with 0.45 teledensity provided.
This means that 700,000 more liens at lease are necessary to meet the requirements of its guideline; it is in this bid that the Nigerian government has chosen to privatise the telecommunications sector of the communication industry.
1.1 Statement of Problem
Communication networks are undeniably a facilitator of economic development, but their impact on the Nigerian economy has been slow. Meeting the recommended ITU minimum of one telephone per 100 people is now a primary concern for all developing countries, including Nigeria. To accelerate the pace of development, it is necessary to identify the factors that have caused the slow pace of development.
1.2 Aim and Objectives of the Study
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the contribution of the communication industry to economic development in Nigeria, with the following objectives:
i. Evaluate the problems that the government faces in managing the communication business.
ii. Examine the possibilities of private investors in the industry.
iii. To provide solutions to the issue confronting both the government and private investors in the business.
iii. Assess the role of the communication industry in economic development.
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