YOU AND YOUR PHONE

…written by Tijjani Muhammad Musa

The need to communicate between two entities, be it in physical, abstract or in virtual terms has started for man from the moment he became conscious of the fact that he is not alone on earth. In fact this exchange of information between one source and its target destination predates mankind. 

Where going by evidences from religious scripts (for those who believe in faith that is), such crucial exchange started the universe itself, when the divine command of the word “Be” was uttered by God to nothing and from that spoken word came forth the “Big bang” that initiated this material world coming into existence.

It is also a known fact that animals, which came to the creation scene before mankind, do have the ability to communicate with each other. Fishes, insects, crawling and walking land creatures and birds are each known to have a system of communications, a form of language that can be distinguished as strictly their own. 

Using one form of sound, movement, psychical ability or another they are able to inform themselves as well as others of beneficial things or of impending danger. And by such interactions, they able to constantly safe guard their well being and make progress in their lives.

Man being a social animal cannot be different and so has found the need to inform and seek for one form of knowledge or another innate in his creation. This exchange of information starts between two units of man, the child and the mother from the moment of conception in a latter’s womb.

Here the fertilized female egg would commence its unique and amazing journey that usually lasts for about 9 months, emerging at the end of it, a beautiful, cute and cuddling human baby. Research has shown that human fetus from the very beginning, establishes a communication channel between it and its mother.

Through this link, an embryo informs the mother of all its needs and her body in return provides it with whatever it is that will ensure its sound development. It is also known that when a mother is sick, has some damage tissues or is with cancer, the fetus would detect the part affected and send stem cells to it to effect its repairs.

A symbiotic relationship that is possible through their ability to communicate with each other, even at this primitive stage of life, where one entity is contained within another. Thus for any to think mankind only has the ability to communicate when a child is able to speak or to understand language is a gross mistake indeed.

From the moment of birth, a mother and her infant engage in a form of non-verbal communication via eye contact known as bonding. The baby automatically seeks for his mother’s eyes and upon finding it, engages it in a speech no one can fully understand. Not even the mother, who smiles at her bundle of joy with love and affection. 

And by instinct or is it intuition, she finds the desire to say one soothing word or make one soft sound or another to it. This initiates and encourages the day old baby to start his or her listening and talking experiences.

Soon the baby expresses his needs by certain actions, cues and cries, which is usually his form of first oral speech, if it may be called that. Realizing that his cries communicate and generate a response from his mother, it becomes a regular form of telling the mother of his distress and discomfort. 

Soon comes the smile and the laughter with which he shows his pleasure and happiness about whatever is happening to him. Eventually he utters his first word “Mama” to the delight of the mother, who encourages him to say some more words, until he becomes able to speak the language of the mother and her people or society in which he is raised.

And once away from his mother, family and friends, most of us find the need to reach out and inquire about each other, which is very important to the extent that we either make scratches on cave walls as done by early man or leave a note for another to read while we are away. 

Of course such notes become letters once sent out from a distance to express our speech to the recipients at another location. Though serving to feed our need to communicate, letters and other written forms of information exchange lack something vital and that is prompt responses or interactiveness as found in natural conversations.

This problem was soon to be solved with the invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell in 1870. He created a device that was able to permit two or more persons to have a conversation in real time via wires, over long distances by converting sound energy into electrical energy and later back to sound energy again. 

This historic achievement ushered in the era of telephony and much of the distance that once separated loved ones and business associates was reduced to a simple dial of numbers, followed by the now popular greeting of “Hello”.

Stationary telephones were soon to be found almost everywhere, in homes and offices, at bus and train stations, airports, public places and even on the streets, where with a single coin, one is able to make a call to anyone, anywhere within the reach of the telephone receiving terminal.

Landlines as the wire version of these communication gadgets held sway for more than a century, up until when the stationary telephone was found to be constraining to development. People were not reached as at when due and many mishaps that could have been avoidable if only a person is reached on time necessitated the need to make the telephone mobile.

End of Part One

II

Enter, the mobile phone. In 1973, April 4^th to be exact Martin Cooper of Motorola made publicly the first ever wireless telephone call using a prototype handheld device, the DynaTAC model. But the dream to carry a pocket-size handheld communication device started much earlier as depicted by authors in science fiction, books and movies.

Renown television documentary personality Arthur C. Clarke once predicted its coming in the mid 1980s in his 1962 Profiles of the Future thus "personal transceiver, so small and compact that every man carries one." Clarke wrote: "the time will come when we will be able to call a person anywhere on earth merely by dialing a number."

The mobile phone started with the 0G i.e. zero generation handsets which were not cellular in nature, can barely handle simultaneous calls and of course could barely be affordable. Next generation mobile phones are labeled the 1G sets from 1973 to mid-1980s.

These were an improvement on the earlier version, could handle simultaneous calls, but were still using the analogue system of communication. The second generation phone or the 2Gsets were introduced in 1991 and these were digitally based and were on Global System of Mobile or GSM communications technology.

It took a full decade of usage before the 3G digital phones came on the scene. Launched in Japan and based on Wideband Code Division Multiple Access or the W-CDMA which is a technology that supports cellular voice, text messaging, multimedia services and carry data at very high speed which permits streaming and broadband internet access. 

Next in tow were the 3.5G, 3G+ or Turbo 3G that facilitate higher speed data access or HSPA which allows networks that are capable of higher data transfer speeds and capacity. We are clearly is the era of the much hyped about smart phones.

Now, in Nigeria of course telecommunications started with the fixed or landline telephones, which were the legacy of the British colonial administration in government offices and houses of the administrative officers. 

This later extended to the homes of those senior ranking civil servants, elites and the rich and wealthy in society. Telephones were limited only to major cities in the country like Lagos, Ibadan, Enugu, Kaduna, Kano, Port Harcourt among others. The operating organ was Nigeria Telecommunications company or NITEL for short.

One can still recall the days, not so long ago when a person expecting a job interview call, a loved one’s call  or a relative living or visiting a country abroad would either go to an office or visit a house nearby to receive such calls on a scheduled time. 

Also many by now might have forgotten how they would seek to make a crucial call in a friend’s office or home to the annoyance and invasion of telephone owners’ privacy. Still, as embarrassing as it may be many could not help, but encroach on such people’s tolerance thereby testing their patience.

Eventually, the Thuraya handset, highly expensive for its call charges and the 090 NITEL mobile phones came on the scene. The latter proved a frustrating venture, which after paying exorbitantly and waiting on an imaginary queue for many annoying months to acquire one, was so disappointing in service delivery; they were more or less like status symbols. 

Both these two carry-around handheld phones reigned together around the 90s and could be seen being posed around with by the few who could do nothing else with them but just that, carrying them around. Rarely does anyone see or hear them make or receive calls with them.

III

In 2001, after Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) sold the operating licenses to some GSM companies in January, among which were Econet Nigeria Wireless and Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN) in a public auction. 

Though MTN made the first GSM network call in Nigeria on 16 May 2001, it was however the former (now Airtel) that were the first to commence mobile telecommunication operations in Nigeria on August 7, 2001. It was soon to be joined by the latter, which also started its own full telecommunication services provision a few months later

Based on the past antecedence of telephone acquisition in Nigeria and how difficult it was to get one in the past, many thought it was going to be business as usual and so there was a huge scramble for the new devices by GSM subscribers. 

Capitalizing on this fear and rush, the duo of Econet and MTN seized on Nigerians ignorance about the market and their gullibility by selling the SIM cards to first time GSM line owners at very high prices. Some bought their lines for as much as N30,000, before the euphoria gradually simmered down and lines were being purchased for anything between N12,000 to N8,000.

Nokia, Sony-Erickson and Samsung handsets of various designs, models and sizes were the phones that first received the precious SIM cards of that initial time. As usual it was the elites, the middle class and corporate guys and girls that first flaunted the lines and devices. But, soon the initial rush pattered out and the demand started to fall and the market forces set in to force the prices down and eventually crash. 

Thereafter, many could afford to buy their own handsets and line or inherit phones from their family and friends who could afford to change their handsets once they realize such devices are becoming common sights in the hands of those they feel were beneath them. Status symbol played in.

As the prices of both the handsets and SIM cards fell, the only other avenue for the services providers to capitalize on was the pricing of the calls. In their efforts to recuperate their investments on both the licenses and operational costs, MTN and Econet called upon severally to commence per second billing as obtainable in other parts of the world where GSM services are offered, they refuse to hear of it, insisting on the per minute billing they started their operations with.

Not until Globacom, the 4^th GSM service provider launched itself on the Nigerian telephony field with its per second billing in August 2003, did the first two succumb to the demand of the populace. This they did in fear of losing their customers, many of whom were already abandoning their lines for the new lemon green comer. 

Glo as they are called crashed the exorbitant pricing of the GSM calls and were highly patronized by many Nigerians. What with its being a wholly Nigerian owned GSM telecommunication company unlike MTN which has roots in South Africa.

Another plus that Glo added to the Nigerian GSM scene was its introduction of Blackberry or BB phone device. Glo’s original market plan for it was meant to be strictly for the big boys and girls in society by making it only available to their postpaid subscribers. 

MTN in its competitive strive however felt otherwise and made the device and its internet services available for all and sundry.  This move in no small way captured the huge potential of the BB services for MTN.

As predicted earlier that mobile phones would become so common among the populace so much so that ordinary folks like street food vendors, maiguard, bus drivers and their conductors etc would soon be owners of GSM phones and would be able to communicate just like the elites in society. 

That development has come to pass now. In fact, mobile phone lines are now being offered for free by the service providers, with customized phones being sold as cheap as for N1000 together with the SIMs and some promotional incentives.

IV

Finally, in 2007 Etisalat after acquiring its license to operate in Nigeria came with juicy promises and an offer for any interested subscriber to apply for any number of one’s choice to be customized for the subscriber as he or she joins their network. Many were optimistic about the new entrant, but the impact many hoped it would make did not see the light of the day. 

Clearly, the trophies to be won in the Nigerian GSM race have all been won by the head starters who started the race from the on set. Etisalat just managed to flow with the tide. After all the market about 180-190 million strong was huge and could accommodate more competition.

In 2011, Nigeria celebrated a decade of GSM operations and MTN in particular, by now the most successful of all the networks, having the lion share of the market with about 50 million subscribers had all causes to be thankful to its customers, who have stuck with the network through the years.

GSM telecommunications has come to stay in the country, providing not just the needed communications demand of the citizens, but also job opportunities for many of the working populace as well as becoming the highest revenue generating industry in Nigeria.

GSM telecommunications has become so important in our lives now that many people are wondering how Nigerians were able to survive without it in the first place. It’s ability to make life and business transactions easier and much more fulfilling is clearly an understatement. 

With its facilitating making and receiving calls, sending short messaging service or sms texts, multi-media services, conference calls, internet browsing, social networking and many other telecom services, it is no wonder our mobile phones have become our most constant companions.

Not just for our personal information exchange uses, our mobile phones have since assumed a working tool status. By having several features and applications such as Microsoft office, camera, voice recorder, global positioning system (GPS), calculator, scale, alarm clock, planner, calendar and time piece etc, many are finding themselves more and more attached to their smart phones as a mobile office tool. 

Our phones are now our mini theaters too, allowing us to play music, watch movies, listen to the radio, play recreational games and much more. Entertainment has never been cheaper, simpler and much more engaging. Talking about engaging, there are so many things one can do with his mobile phone now; it is gradually constituting a distraction to a normal productive life for many an individual. 

Not just that, many are now so into their phones, they are beginning to find companionship and solitariness in it, so much so that others who deserve some attention from them are beginning to suffer some neglect as a result of over indulgence in their mobile gadgets. It is beginning to dawn on many that unless they resist it, their phones would take over their lives completely, leaving them helpless at its mercy.

People are so engrossed with their phones these days, they engage in its usage everywhere they go and in whichever circumstances they find themselves. Making and receiving calls or texting while driving a car, riding a motorbike and even walking on the streets is becoming so common now, virtually most users of GSM phones are guilty of the offensive nuisance. 

People are now so inseparable from their phones, they go into their toilets to poo-poo with them. There are also reports that some even continue to stare at their phone screens, social  networking  on Whatsapp or Facebook while making love. Can anyone just imagine that?

On the family front, many babies these days have to make sacrifices for their mothers to go to work, leaving them at the mercy of some mean and nasty nannies, and when their mothers come back and pick them, they still have to contend with sharing their attention with the mobile phone.

Husbands and wives each have their own sad stories to tell about how they hate their partner’s phone for stealing off their quality time. There are now many reported cases of accidents that could have been avoided if only the phone would be placed in its rightful place in our lives.

Telling lies have become so simplified with the mobile phones, it has now become fashionable to be in one place, yet claim to be at another. The phone has also becoming one of the leading factors of many sad relationship outcomes. It gives room for all kinds of atrocities and vices such as fraudulent dealings, scams and 419 set-ups. 

GSM phones have now opened the doors to the innermost parts of our private homes. People can venture right into your bedroom and talk to your wife or husband, without your doing anything to stop it. Children are exposed to strangers many would never have approved their interactions together.

Theft of phones are so rampant, it is a doubt if there is one user who has not had his or her handset stolen, at least once. Why armed robbers would always demand for their victims phones once they stage an operation is left to anyone’s imagination. 

And normal thieves too, find it such a threat to steal a person’s mobile phone at the slightest opportunity they get. For some it is not losing the phone, cheap or expensive that is painful, but the virtual content, which could be valuable information and data that has taken years to collect, which could never be replaced.

A double edge sword, the mobile phone on the work and business front is contributing towards making money easier, yet on the family structure, it is completely stripping us of all the things we hold sacred and valuable. 

It has eliminated distances, bringing border back to their artificial origin of non-existence, turning the world into a virtual, global village. And now from your very own room you can now talk or walk, buy or sell, study or play, befriend or fight, engage or disengage, undress and have sex via your mobile phone with any willing person in the world.

And now as a subscriber of any of the 4 operating networks MTN, Glo, Airtel and Etisalat, what does an ordinary Nigerian have to say about the advent and performance of the telecom companies? How has telecommunication and the mobile phones affected their lives? 

Knowing its advantages and disadvantages can anyone imagine life without the mobile phone? What would you say about the internet and the vast potential it holds for us as part of the global netizens? Here are some responses:

“…….” *Interviews inserts*

Clearly, it is obvious that despite its many negative effects, the advantages of having a mobile phone far outweigh the disadvantages and many would rather be left with their smart companions than be separated from them. And with their multi-tasking ability, who can say what next they might be designed to perform for their owners. 

The future is so rich with possibilities, many can’t wait for tomorrow to come. In fact, given the opportunity, a lot of mobile phone users wouldn’t mind time traveling to tomorrow to see for themselves which amazing apps await us then.

End.

©2015 Tijjani M. M.

All Rights Reserved