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Airtel battles Globacom for Nigeria’s second largest mobile operator

By Adeyemi Adepetun
17 April 2015   |   3:46 am
TELECOMMUNICATIONS firm, Airtel Nigeria, appears to be in serious contention to reclaim its position as the second largest operator in Nigeria, a position Globacom has held closely in the last 13 months in the country.
telecomms- image source africatelecomit

telecomms- image source africatelecomit

TELECOMMUNICATIONS firm, Airtel Nigeria, appears to be in serious contention to reclaim its position as the second largest operator in Nigeria, a position Globacom has held closely in the last 13 months in the country.

Current market statistics from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) showed that Airtel is seriously bridging the gap between it and Globacom.

According to NCC, Globacom currently has 28, 877, 537 subscribers, while Airtel provides services for 28, 380, 848 customers. The statistics showed that Globacom, which got its GSM license in 2003, leads Airtel with about 496, 689 customers.

The telecoms regulator’s statistics further showed that Airtel, which got its GSM license in 2001, then as Econet Wirelss, is trailing behind Globacom by one per cent, in terms of market share. Airtel has 20 per cent market share, while Globacom has 21 per cent.

MTN Nigeria, which paid $285 million for its license in 2001, the largest telecommunications firm in Africa and whose, yet to be formally announced acquisition of Visafone could end the era of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operator in the country, controls 43 per cent market shares with 61, 001, 529 subscribers. Etisalat, which came into Nigeria in 2008, with 22, 015, 685 subscribers, has 16 per cent market share.

Going by the February statistics, Nigeria has 190. 6 million connected lines, out of which 142.6 million are active. The country’s teledensity is also firm at 101.85 per cent.

With 142 million GSM subscribers in the country, the technology currently enjoys 98.38 per cent market share.

In terms of Internet subscribers on the GSM networks, MTN leads with 39.3 million; Globacom has 18.1 million; Airtel has 15.9 million and Etisalat controls 9.8 million.

Lately, there have serious marketing campaign especially by Airtel targeted at displacing Globacom from its current position as the second market leader in the country.

Recalled that Globacom, in early 2014 reclaimed the position of the second largest mobile service provider, which it conceded to Airtel earlier in the year.

Airtel has been woven around series of new customer propositions, including the ‘SmartConnect’ and a new data service, which it introduced with a view to attracting new subscribers at a faster pace to its network.

Through the SmartConnect, the Indian telecoms company is offering a 4-in-1 Family SIM Pack, which comes with mouth-watering benefits to only new subscribers, upon activation of the SIM lines.

Airtel specifically targeted the new offer at new subscribers while excluding its existing subscribers from benefiting from it, a strategy, which reveals its intent to attract new customers that will help boost its subscriber base in the next few months beyond Globacom’s current subscriber base.

Airtel Nigeria, owned by Indian’s billionaire, Sunnil Mittal, in the new data campaign tagged ‘Join the Smartphone Network’, sought to reward customers for their patronage, and also drives Internet usage and penetration.

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