Author : Chukwudiebube Opata
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 20 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (13 download)
Book Synopsis Sustainable Development and Rural Access to Telecommunications in Nigeria by : Chukwudiebube Opata
Download or read book Sustainable Development and Rural Access to Telecommunications in Nigeria written by Chukwudiebube Opata and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This chapter makes a case for the importance of extension of rural access in Nigeria based on the concept of sustainable development. It simultaneously presents a business case for telecommunications services and facilities providers to extend universal access to telecommunications services to rural areas in Nigeria. Nigeria, with a population of over 140 million people is the most populous country in Africa, about one out of every six sub-Saharan African is a Nigerian. Therefore the issue of extension of access to telecommunications services for persons in Nigeria goes a long way towards, in demographic terms, addressing access to telecommunications services in Africa, a continent largely on the have-nots half of the digital divide. There is also a human side to the need for access to telecommunications in Nigeria. Nigeria's relatively low GDP per capita of $1,969 indicates that there is a pervasive problem of poverty which is compounded by a lack of access to basic health care especially in isolated rural areas. If, as I will argue below, access to telecommunications services improves economic development, access to health care and aggregate consumer welfare, there is an immense need for such improvements for persons living in Nigeria. I will highlight the urban rural divide in terms of access to telecommunications services and put forward an argument on the grounds of development for extension of access to unserved rural areas. Development is perceived as the primary goal of extension of access programmes. Drawing primarily from economic literature, I argue that extension of access would be beneficial on a macro-economic level for the economic growth of the country and based on rather limited existing case studies of rural dwellers in other countries, would also maximise aggregate welfare for rural dwellers in Nigeria. I will argue that beyond merely being economically beneficial, it could promote sustainable development by integrating social benefits and environmental protection to the economic benefits earlier stated. Due to the reliance of liberalised telecommunications sectors on the role of businesses as services and facilities providers for the extension of access, I argue that there is a business case on the grounds of corporate social responsibility for these businesses voluntarily extending access to telecommunications in rural areas beyond their bare minimum legal and contractual obligations.