ENHANCING NIGERIAN ECONOMY THROUGH WIRELESS INTERNET NETWORK.

ENHANCING NIGERIAN ECONOMY THROUGH WIRELESS INTERNET NETWORK

ABSTRACT
The research provides a conceptual and theoretical study of wireless internet network as a means of enhancing Nigerian economy. It analyzes the nature, types and significance of wireless internet network towards enhancing the Nigerian economy.

INTRODUCTION
The past 15 years have brought an unprece­dented increase in access to telephone serv­ices. This growth has been driven primarily by wireless technologies and the liberalization of telecommunications markets, which allowed for faster and cheaper rollout of mobile networks.
The total number of mobile phones in the world surpassed the number of fixed-line telephones in 2002; by the end of 2008, there were an estimated four billion mobile phones globally (Wireless Intelligence, 2008)1. The proportion of mobile phone subscriptions in developing countries increased from about 30% of the world total in 2000 to more than 50% in 2004 – and to almost 70% in 2007.
No technology has ever spread faster around the world (The Economist, 2008). The intro­duction of competition in the mobile telephony market has often led to an immediate growth of mobile penetration (Figure 1). Countries that have taken decisive steps to establish in­dependent regulators and foster competition have seen notable improvements in sector per­formance. In some cases, the announcement of a plan to issue a new license has been effective in triggering growth, encouraging the exist­ing mobile phone operator to improve service, reduce prices, and increase market penetra­tion before the new entrant started operations.
In recent years, steep price reductions (Figure 2), driven by technological advances, market growth, and increased competition, have contributed to the rapid expansion in mobile phone use inmany countries. Increased use of prepaid serv­ices allows mobile customers to make payments in small amounts instead of having to commit to fixed monthly subscriptions. For those who could not afford their own handsets, small loans were made available, mainly to the rural poor, to en­able them to buy a mobile handset, an antenna and a large battery.
This gave enterprising indi­viduals an opportunity to rent phones to other villagers and charge for calls (The Economist, 2009). Furthermore, prepaid cards, often avail­able in small denominations, enable even low-income consumers to have access to mobile com­munications, leading to higher penetration rates in poor and rural areas

ENHANCING NIGERIAN ECONOMY THROUGH WIRELESS INTERNET NETWORK