NewStats: 3,261,804 , 8,175,213 topics. Date: Friday, 30 May 2025 at 03:53 PM 6f2q15

Do you still when people used to pay for phone calls at phone booths? Then calls were charged per minute. If you make a phone call of 1 minute 3 seconds, you would be requested to pay for two minutes. I still how we were very careful then, always talking and looking at the phone screen to see that it didn't exceed the money we had budgeted to spend for the call.

Then, if someone wanted to call you, the call business operator would notify you and you stay close by so that you could receive the call through his or her phone. I think the per second billing by Glo and the reduction of the price of simcards killed this business.

Some people here may not be able to relate with these because they were born when sim cards and phones became available like sachet water. My neighbour as at then bought MTN simcard for N68,000.

I buying my sim card for 6,000 naira and then the phone for another 6,000. The next week it all came crashing down to 300 naira or so.

Still dey pain me till today.

That was the early days of GSM in Nigeria.

POS is the new life saver.

The entrepreneurial spirit of many Nigerians is the reason why we have not set this country on fire.

Political leaders do nothing but feed fat in the struggle of the average Nigerian.

Before opening this thread, I somehow knew the particular business it would be about. Wow

RealityKings1:
Before opening this thread, I somehow knew the particular business it would be about. Wow

Lol. Your guess was right.

gasparpisciotta:
That was the early days of GSM in Nigeria.

POS is the new life saver.

The entrepreneurial spirit of many Nigerians is the reason why we have not set this country on fire.

Political leaders do nothing but feed fat in the struggle of the average Nigerian.

You no talk lie, my brother.

otipoju:
I buying my sim card for 6,000 naira and then the next week it all came crashing down to 300 naira or so.

Still dey pain me till today.

The price had even gone down at that 6k.

... And the most common phone for the business then was NOKIA 3310.

otipoju:
I buying my sim card for 6,000 naira and then the next week it all came crashing down to 300 naira or so.

Still dey pain me till today.

I bought my first MTN sim for 18k, it came with a big case like that of a compact disc of old.
I didn't come across a phone until about 2 years after.

SeverusSnape:
... And the most common phone for the business then was NOKIA 3310.

Yes, you are correct. And that Samsung blue face that has a blinking sensor light.

HelenaWills:

I bought my first MTN sim for 18k.
I didn't come across a phone until about 2 years after.

Some people had sims then without phone. I can relate

SeverusSnape:
... And the most common phone for the business then was NOKIA 3310.

I could swear this was more common.

SIM card 68k

Oluwabugyyolo:
SIM card 68k

If you weren't born then or you were still a kid, you ask questions so that you can be educated. People bought simcards even above that price.

Oluwabugyyolo:
SIM card 68k

So u Think he was Lying.If u don't know pls ask ur Elders to Tell u.

Those were the days. Sim card was like an holy Grail.

Nokia 3310 reigned supremo.
Sagem
Motorola
Sendo
Samsung blue screen
Alcatel

Everything has it time and season. Vanity indeed....

Rapmoney:


Yes, you are correct. And that Samsung blue face that has a blinking sensor light.

Exactly! 😃

That NITEL privatization is still the best privatization project we have so far in Nigeria.
It was done for the benefits of the system and not for individuals and till now we're still reaping the fruit of that well-executed privatization.
Kudos to AA. Atiku and his team for that and by extension OBJ for the approval. Even though they still performed below expectations given the prevailing circumstances as at when they were in office.

#20 per minute and a second above that is also counted as a full minute.

Rapmoney:
Do you still when people used to pay for phone callhs at phone booths? Then calls were charged per minute. If you make a phone call of 1 minute 3 seconds, you would be requested to pay for two minutes. I still how we were very careful then, always talking and looking at the phone screen to see that it didn't exceed the money we had budgeted to spend for the call.

Then, if someone wanted to call you, the call business operator would notify you and you stay close by so that you could receive the call through his or her phone. I think the per second billing by Glo and the reduction of the price of simcards killed this business.

Some people here may not be able to relate with these because they were born when sim cards and phones became available like sachet water. My neighbour as at then bought MTN simcard for N68,000.

Cc: Seun, Mynd44, Lalasticlala, Nlfpmod

Thanks to president Obasanjo...

Rapmoney:
Do you still when people used to pay for phone calls at phone booths? Then calls were charged per minute. If you make a phone call of 1 minute 3 seconds, you would be requested to pay for two minutes. I still how we were very careful then, always talking and looking at the phone screen to see that it didn't exceed the money we had budgeted to spend for the call.

Then, if someone wanted to call you, the call business operator would notify you and you stay close by so that you could receive the call through his or her phone. I think the per second billing by Glo and the reduction of the price of simcards killed this business.

Some people here may not be able to relate with these because they were born when sim cards and phones became available like sachet water. My neighbour as at then bought MTN simcard for N68,000.

Some people grew in this business to become millionaires

My Own story long

We were three that contributed money to buy our Econet SIM around 60 k that year , I think we got a used sagem phone for 18 k as one of us was working at computer village, laslas na loss that line loss.

I went to mowe ibafo to do a small job when I saw MTN line on promo 38 k, Omo I book the line down with 14k, take off go back ikotun borrow from everybody borrowable, after paying dem tell me say na after 21 days the SIM go work, I say no wahala.
As I travel go for my grand ma burial before I return line don turn 22k . all this was around year 2000


As I go village that year , I no come get phone one of my padi no get line, so I give am the line as sharp Igbo man to start phone booth, chukwudi use my line start with recharge card and booster card. With wooden bench and one umbrella.
From there nwoke erewa bouns and minerals for Ihie junction, close to Alaoji sell , earpiece, universal charger and casing.
Today Nwanna is a big boy , wholesale of accessories with provisions with a house of his own and kids.

Wetin cause our fight MtN call me say as number 1 customer come and carry rice and groundnut oil,
I tell Chukwudi, chukwudi say we go share the rice 50/ 50 but owuya ge bu the groundnut oil, I said mbanu before Abraham Jesus was, they are rewarding the owner of the line , not the or UseE`.
Laslas na Eze Reuben palace, we settle am, I collect my SIM, half bag of rice, groundnut oil and later bonus of 5k

MTN you guys try that year.

Till today Chukwudi still recognises me as the harbinger of his success
Nwanna Udo ga diri.

Why am I saying this
With just my small SIM Card , I bought at Mowe someone is made today

I wish I was at home , I would have snapped all the booster cards and recharge cards I still have them stored somewhere.

Also there was this guy babaugo also called computer from Amapu, who could formulate recharge card numbers sometimes it entered sometimes it didn't.

Why did I keep all those recharge cards , ed that Mtn craze that happened one time when you could load recharge cards, nna me self get reach 10k.


I only did welcome back once around 2003 since then na the same SIM I dey use. The line highest I'm dey get na H, no H+ but trust me I dey see network for Sahara ocean and Atlantic desert .

Make Una no vex , I been talking saying my story long

Na wetin I dey use communicate with my mom whenever she travel cos na me dey always dey in charge of the shop in her absence.

We been no get landphone so I dey always make use of the phonebooth close to our shop then

How time flies thoo 😂

#20 per minute... I go dey answer call and monitor the seconds simultaneously make e no enter 2mins 😂

#20 per minute

When men were boys

Time and Chance!

People don't even buy recharge cards like before. Some Nigerians built houses using recharge card printing business.

POS will also become a thing of the past. It's a matter of fews years.

The way our lives revolve around phones now, sometimes I wonder how we managed to survive when there were no phones.

This life eh

Saved me in university then. Mum sends 1,500 mtn. I sold for 1,400 to them

Rapmoney:
Do you still when people used to pay for phone calls at phone booths? Then calls were charged per minute. If you make a phone call of 1 minute 3 seconds, you would be requested to pay for two minutes. I still how we were very careful then, always talking and looking at the phone screen to see that it didn't exceed the money we had budgeted to spend for the call.

Then, if someone wanted to call you, the call business operator would notify you and you stay close by so that you could receive the call through his or her phone. I think the per second billing by Glo and the reduction of the price of simcards killed this business.

Some people here may not be able to relate with these because they were born when sim cards and phones became available like sachet water. My neighbour as at then bought MTN simcard for N68,000.

I was a phone boot owner, employed people to operate it while in University. Thats even how I met my wife...This life lol