Wireless and Mobile Technologies, 2013, Vol. 1, No. 1, 20-24
Available online at http://pubs.sciepub.com/wmt/1/1/4
© Science and Education Publishing
DOI:10.12691/wmt-1-1-4
Harnessing Telecommunications Revolution in Nigeria:
A Case Study
Joseph Isabona
*
Department of Basic Sciences, Benson Idahosa University, Benin City, Benin, Nigeria
*Corresponding author: josabone@yahoo.com
Received January 09, 2013; Revised October 20, 2013; Accepted November 14, 2013
Abstract In recent times telecommunication revolution especially the use of mobile phones is transforming the
Nigeria society in many ways. The socio-economic and health impact are enormous. As the spectrum of mobile
phone usage increases, opinions differ among users on the impact of this revolution in Nigeria. This paper therefore
set to investigate the impact of cellular phone technology on health care services in Nigeria. In doing this, the study
elicited data through questionnaires from 300 respondents who were randomly and positively selected. Findings
show that Mobile phone communication offers an effective means of bringing good healthcare services to the
citizenry. In general, the most important steps that different stakeholders can take to make the most of the
Telecommunication revolution in Africa are also revealed.
Keywords: mobile phone, healthcare, telecommunication revolution
Cite This Article: Joseph Isabona, “Harnessing Telecommunications Revolution in Nigeria: A Case Study.”
Wireless and Mobile Technologies 1, no. 1 (2013): 20-24. doi: 10.12691/wmt-1-1-4.
1. Introduction
The mobile telecommunication industry has and is still
undergoing extraordinary changes brought about by the
introduction of new technology and market forces. Since
the late 1990s countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America
have been witnessing a phenomenal growth in the use of
new information and communication technologies (ICTs),
in particular mobile cellular phones [9] (see Figure 2). The
coverage of the world’s mobile networks is constantly
increasing as more and more base stations are being
deployed. GSM/EDGE is one of the technologies that by
far have the widest reach and today covers more than 85
percent of the world’s population (see Figure 1).
WCDMA/HSPA covered around 35 percent of the
population by 2010 but is now accessible by over 40
percent of the world population. It has been estimated in
[8] that mobile phones and personal computer systems
(PCs) subscriptions will reach above 8 billion by 2016. By
2016 it is also estimated that 80 percent of the world’s
population will be able to access the internet using
WCDMA/HSPA networks [8].
Figure 1. Projected 3GPP technology coverage, 2010-2016 [8]