The massive growth of the telecommunications industry in The Gambia is quite unprecedented. Remarkable it is how the establishment of the country’s first GSM company, GAMCEL, within a span of eleven years, paves the way for the proliferation of GSM network providers in our tiny country.
Today, we also have AFRICELL, COMUIM and QCELL – all privately owned. Interestingly, alongside the national GSM company, GAMCEL, they are all scrambling for a limited number of customers. Four is indeed a big number considering the size of the country and the earning capacity of average Gambians.
In some countries where the population doubles that of The Gambia, there are less than four GSM network providers. One would therefore expect the market to be saturated, if not too small for all of them to survive. But this is an industry where miracles are being delivered, if the country’s statistics are anything to go by.
We have not only seen it grows from strength to strength, the telecommunications industry, alongside the banking and construction industries have proven to be the most resilient to the economic stress that undoubtedly spares no sector.
We have also seen how innovative the services providers are. True, in such a crowed market, innovation is crucial to the survival of any competitor. But aside their innovative products and services, the country’s GSM companies have over the years made communications accessible, reliable and affordable to the country’s majority poor.
Small as it is, The Gambia has over eight hundred thousand subscribers, representing over 40 per cent of the population. All these point to the fact the more businesses are allowed to compete, of course with regulators in place to serve as watchdogs, the likelihood that efficiency in the delivery of services and products will be insured is high.
Furthermore, in recent times, we have also seen how the use of cells phones have been diversified beyond mere calling and sending messages - eventually impacting the way that we communicate, trade and make payments.
However, all these developments require constant putting in place security measures to counter criminals who would abuse what is meant for human advancement, for their dubious enterprises.
In the case of cell phones and SIM cards, one of such security measures is no doubt having the correct and accurate personal details of all cell phone users. The SIM card in a GSM mobile phone is the basis for identification of the caller.
Therefore, SIM card registration is very important. For instance, no nation on earth has yet succeeded in creating a crime-free environment, but it is crucial to the maintenance of peace that when crimes are committed, the perpetrators are traceable and face justice. This will insure an impunity-free environment and ultimately an environment with less incidence of crime.
In fact what The Gambia has just started has been already done in many other countries in the world, including Africa. In many countries, legislation has been passed requiring mobile operators to register (and also to collect information for customers buying a SIM card).
Therefore, the sensitisation programme offered by the regulatory body, PURA to Gambian journalists is very important, though long over due. It points to, among others, PURA’s recognition of the media, as the fourth estate, and a vehicle through which information can reach the masses.
The registration of SIM cards has been ongoing for months now. Since then, most of the messages carried in the media are in the form of adverts. This is good as it reaches the public and also serves as income for the economically struggling Gambian media outlets. But advertisement should be accompanied by news stories and commentaries to better convince the public to heed to the national call to get their SIM cards registered and that doing so is in their interest. It is established that the public tend to believe more in journalism works, which is expected to be  based on unembellished facts than advertorial, in which hyperbolism is allowed.
Therefore raising the awareness of the media practitioners, it is hoped will translate into greater public awareness and allying of fears and misgivings about the whole process. It could be true that perhaps the reason for the fears, especially as the initial process was as a result of the premature announcement, which came in the form of an executive directive. In such undertakings, government should always bear in mind that rigorous sensitisation should be done before implementation.
The Daily News is calling on all and sundry to get their SIM cards registered and to do it before the June 15 deadline elapses. It is for our own good and that of our peace loving country, so lets do it.