As the telecommunications industry is undergoing a drastic transformation whereas the services of traditionally local telecommunications have been provided by a monopoly under certain regulated price structure. Nowadays many developing nations face the pressures and demand for basic telecommunications services. Even though it has a wild gist of reflection on the global trend towards telecommunications deregulation yet it is pushing the international community to modernize national networks. This paper tries to examine the views and opinion of telecommunications privatization and the effects of liberalization in the Gambia. The aspect of privatization is seen as massive demise in state equity-ownership while liberalization on the other hand is recognized as increase in competition in the industry.
Privatization of telecommunication is creating exciting new opportunities and new challenges for infrastructure and service providers because the telecom sector is undergoing fundamental changes. This is clear in most countries and the explicit goal of liberalization is to provide quality services to consumers in high cost areas at affordable prices. The increase appreciation of the benefit of competition and the rapid change in technology lately has forced the monopolies to generate powerful forces of deregulation.
Privatization and liberalization initiatives were undertaken as a result of the context of structural adjustment programs by IMF and World Bank in Africa and elsewhere in the developing world. With this regard we want to see if privatization of Gamtel is ideal and what are the effects of GSM liberalization. In this paper, a sample size of 93 is taken in a survey to represent the population and RStudio package is use for statistical analysis to test three hypotheses. The results shows that privatization is acceptable but competition does not either push prices down or encourage quality of services in the GSM sector in the Gambia.

Abeysinghea Dhammika and Paul H. (2005). Privatization and technological capability development in the telecommunications sector: a case study of Sri Lanka Telecom. Technology in Society 27, 487–516.
Akwule Raymond U. (1991). Telecommunications in Nigeria. Telecommunications Policy, 241–247.
Alesina A., Ardagna S., Nicoletti G. and Schiantarelli F. (2005). Regulation and investment. Journal of the European Economic Association 3 (4), 791– 825.
Andrea Renda (2010). Competition–regulation interface in telecommunications: What’s left of the essential facility doctrine. Telecommunications Policy 34, 23–35.
Bang James T. (2007). Determinants of the method of sale in privatization. Economic Systems 31, 272–291.
Bel Germa and Trillas Francesc (2005). Privatization, corporate control and regulatory reform: the case of Telefonica. Telecommunications Policy 29, 25–51
Birdsall Nancy and Nellis John (2003). Winners and Losers: Assessing the Distributional Impact of Privatization. World Development Vol. 31, No. 10, 1617–1633.
Bortolottia Bernardo, D’Souzab Juliet, Fantinic Marcella and Megginsond William L. (2002). Privatization and the sources of performance improvement in the global telecommunications industry. Telecommunications Policy 26, 243–268.
Boyland Olivier and Nicoletti Giuseppe. (2000) “Regulation, Market Structure and Performance in Telecommunications.” Economics Department Working Paper No. 237. Paris: OECD.
Chakraborty Chandana and Nandi Banani (2011). ‘Mainline’ telecommunications infrastructure, levels of development and economic growth: Evidence from a panel ofdeveloping countries. Telecommunications Policy 35, 441–449.
Djiofack-Zebaze Calvin and Keck Alexander. (2009). Telecommunications Services in Africa: The Impact of WTO Commitments and Unilateral Reform on Sector Performance and Economic Growth. World Development Vol. 37, No. 5, 919–940.
DOSCIT (2014). Department of State for Communication Information and Technology, The Gambia. http://www.doscit.gm/index.html
FCC. (1999). Connecting the globe: A regulator’s guide to building a global information community. Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC.
Fink Carsten, Mattoo Aaditya and Rathindran Randeep (2002). An assessment of telecommunications reform in developing countries. Working Paper. World Bank, Washington, DC.
Fink Carsten, Mattoo Aaditya and Rathindran Randeep (2003). An assessment of telecommunications reform in developing countries. Information Economics & Policy, 15 (4)(12), 443
Garbacz Christopher and Thompson Herbert G. Jr. (2007). Demand for telecommunication services in developing countries. Telecommunications Policy 31, 276–289.
Gasmi F, Maingard A., Noumba P. and Virto L. Recuero (2013). The Privatization of the Fixed- Line Telecommunications Operator in OECD, Latin America, Asia, and Africa: One Size Does Not Fit All. World Development Vol. 45, 189–208.
Gasmi F. and Virto L. Recuero (2010). The determinants and impact of telecommunications reforms in developing countries. Journal of Development Economics 93, 275–286.
GBOS (2014). The Gambia Bureau of Statistics. The Gambia 2013 Population and Housing Census Preliminary Results, Page 6 http://www.gbos.gov.gm/census
Gutierrez Luis H. (2003). Regulatory governance in the Latin American Telecommunications Sector. Utilities Policy, 11(4), 225–240.
Gutierrez Luis H. and Berg Sanford (2000). Telecommunications liberalization and regulatory governance: Lessons from Latin America. Telecommunications Policy 24 (10–11)(11), 865−884.
Herrera Alejandra (1993). The privatization of Telecommunication services: The Case of Argentina. The Columbia Journal of World Business, spring, 47-61.
ITU (2004). International Telecommunications Union. Rapport annuel des te´ le´communications en Afrique. Geneva: ITU.
Kang Chao-Chung (2009). Privatization and production efficiency in Taiwan’s telecommunications industry. Telecommunications Policy 33, 495–505.
Kang Chao-Chung (2010). Liberalization policy, production and cost efficiency in Taiwan’s telecommunications industry. Telematics and Informatics 27, 79–89
Kang Chao-Chung and Wu Chin-Chia (2013). Statistical precision of productivity change: A bootstrap application to Taiwan’s telecommunications industry. Telecommunications Policy 37, 1015–1032.
Kay J. A. and Thompson D. J. (1986). Privatisation: A policy in search of a rationale. Economic Journal 96, 18–32.
Lam Pun-Lee and Shiu Alice (2010). Economic growth, telecommunications development and productivity growth of the telecommunications sector: Evidence around the world. Telecommunications Policy 34, 185–199.
Lancaster Henry (February, 2014). Gambia - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband. Buddecomm. http://www.budde.com.au/Research/Gambia-Telecoms-Mobile-and-Broadband.html
Lestage Romain, Flacher David, Kim Yeonbae, Kim Jihwan & Kim Yunhee. (2013). Competition and investment in telecommunications: Does competition have the same impact on investment by private and state-owned firms? Information Economics and Policy 25, 41– 50.
Li Feng and Whalley Jason (2002). Deconstruction of the telecommunications industry: from value chains to value networks. Telecommunications Policy 26, 451–472.
Li Wei and Xu Lixin Colin (2002). The political economy of privatization and competition: Cross-country evidence from the telecommunications sector. Journal of Comparative Economics 30, 439–462.
Li Wei and Xu Lixin Colin (2004). The impact of privatization and competition in the telecommunications sector around the world. Journal of Law and Economics 47, 395– 430.
Makhaya Gertrude and Roberts Simon (2003). Telecommunications in developing countries: reflections from the South African experience. Telecommunications Policy 27, 41–59.
Mathur Ike and Banchuenvijit Wanrapee (2007). The effects of privatization on the performance of newly privatized firms in emerging markets. Emerging Markets Review 8, 134–146.
Mayer J., Butkevicius A., Kadri A., and Pizarro J. (2003). Dynamic products in world exports. Review of World Economics 139(4), 762–795.
McNary Robert (2001) “The Network Penetration Effects of Telecommunications Privatization and Competition.” Working Paper. Stanford CA: Stanford University.
Megginson W. L. and Netter J. (2001). From state to market: A survey of empirical studies on privatization. Journal of Economic Literature 39, 321–389.
Mohamad Noorihsan (2014). Telecommunications reform and efficiency performance: Do good institutions matter? Telecommunications Policy 38, 49–65.
Nickell S. (1996). Competition and corporate performance. Journal of Political Economy 104, 724–746.
Noll Roger (1999). Telecommunication Reform in Developing Countries. Working paper No 99- 10, Joint Center for Regulatory Study. Stanford CA: Stanford University.
Noll Roger (2000). Telecommunications reform in developing countries. In A. O. Kreuger (Ed.), Economic Policy Reform: The second stage. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
PURA (2014). Public Utility and Regulatory Authority, The Gambia. http://www.accessgambia.com/information/pura.html
Qiang Christine Zhen-Wei and Pitt A. (2003). Contribution of ICT to growth. World Bank working paper no. 24, Washington, DC.
Roller Lars-Hendrik and Waverman Leonard (2001). Telecommunications Infrastructure and Economic Development: A Simultaneous Approach. Am. Econ. Rev. 91, 909–923.
Ros Agustin J. (2003). The impact of the regulatory process and price cap regulation in Latin American telecommunications markets. Review of Network Economics, 2(3), 270–286.
Ros Agustin J. (1999). Does ownership or competition matter? The effects of telecommunications reform on network expansion and efficiency. Journal of Regulatory Economics 15, 219–244.
Smith Mark Easterby, Thorpe Richard and Jackson Paul R. (2008). Management Research, Third Edition: Pages 143, 212–219
Tsamenyi Mathew, Onumah Joseph and Tetteh-Kumah Edmund. (2010). Post-privatization performance and organizational changes: Case studies from Ghana. Critical Perspectives on Accounting 21, 428–442.
Vickers J. and Yarrow G. (1998). Privatization: An economic analysis. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Wallsten Scott J. (2001b). An Econometric Analysis of Telecom Competition, Privatization, and Regulation in Africa and Latin America. Journal of Industrial Economics 49, 1– 19.
Wallsten Scott J. (1999). An empirical analysis of competition, privatization, and regulation in africa and latin america: Mimeo, World Bank.
Wallsten Scott J. (2001a). An empirical analysis of competition, privatization, and regulation in Africa and Latin America. Journal of Industrial Economics 49, 1–19.
Wallsten Scott J. (2002). Does Sequencing Matter? Regulation and Privatization in Telecommunications Reforms. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper, No. 2817.
Wallsten Scott J. (2004). Privatizing monopolies in developing countries: The real effects of exclusivity periods in telecommunications. Journal of Regulatory Economics 26, 303– 320.
Waverman Leonard and Koutroumpis Pantelis (2011). Benchmarking telecoms regulation – The Telecommunications Regulatory Governance Index (TRGI). Telecommunications Policy 35, 450–468.
Weiers Ronald M. Introductory Business Statistics 7th edition. Pages 324;423, TABLE A.6
Wheatley J. J. (1999). World telecommunications economics. London: The Institution of Electrical Engineers.
Yang Anhyuk, Lee Daeho, Hwang Junseok and Shin Jungwoo (2013). The influence of regulations on the efficiency of telecommunications operators: A meta-frontier analysis. Telecommunications Policy 37, 1071–1082.
Zhang Y.-F., Parker D. and Kirkpatrick C. (2005). Competition, regulation and privatisation of electricity generation in developing countries: does the sequencing of the reforms matter? Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance 45 (2–3), 358–379.
Zhang Y.-F., Parker D. and Kirkpatrick C. (2008). Electricity sector reform in developing countries: an econometric assessment of the effects of privatization, competition and regulation. Journal of Regulatory Economics 33 (2), 159–178.
Zheng Shilin and Ward Michael R. (2011). “The effects of market liberalization and privatization on Chinese telecommunications”. China Economic Review 22, 210–220.