Bloomberg.com has announced that Nigeria's federal government has put the country's state-owned telephone company, Nigerian Telecommunications, Ltd., or Nitel, up for sale to domestic and international buyers after a deal with Transnational Corp. fell through in February 2008 after Transnational failed to fix the failing Nitel. Nigeria did set a bar for potential investors; the company interested in buying must have at least 2 million existing land or cellular lines in use and a minimum net worth of $500 million. The share of the company being offered is surprisingly large, anywhere from 51% to 75%, meaning one company, potentially overseas, will essentially control all land-based telecommunications in Nigeria.

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This article demonstrates the increasing interconnectedness of the world, not only economically but practically as well. It will also be interesting to see the reaction from those in Nigeria and around the world that prefer that infrastructure remain at least in the control of domestic entities, if not in the government's hands entirely.

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