Article
Sierra Leone lagged behind in the new cellular phone system because of the war. It happened that the African continent was opening to mobile phone providers at a time when Sierra Leoneans were under a civil war siege. This was to change with the declaration of peace. While other GSM companies were jittery about the country’s newly announced peace after a protracted and bloody ten year armed conflict, Mobitel, a GSM service provider, made the first breakthrough when they established their company in 2000. Today, Sierra Leone has many subscribers and providers, with numbers increasing daily. This article looks at the emergence of mobile telephony in a country only recently torn apart by civil war.