TMCnet News
Globacom Becomes Second Biggest Mobile Network Operator in Nigeria(AllAfrica Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) According to The Guardian checks, the latest subscriber statistics from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) put Globacom second after MTN Nigeria and ahead of Airtel telecommunications and Etisalat. The statistics from NCC showed that Globacom now controls 21 per cent of Nigeria's mobile market. The company, owned by Nigeria's oil magnate, Mike Adenuga Jr, with the 21 per cent, now has 27.34 million subscribers. Airtel Communications, which was Nigeria's second largest MNO about 10 months ago, is now third with 20 per cent market share and 25.3 million subscribers. MTN Nigeria remained the largest MNO in Nigeria with 44 per cent market share and over 56 million subscribers. Emerging Market Telecommunications Service limited operating in Nigeria as Etisalat with about five years of operations in the country controls 15 per cent of the market and has 19.4 million subscribers. According to NCC statistics, Nigeria's teledensity is currently firm at 93.4 per cent as at June and within same period, Glo gained 2.8 million new customers between February and June this year. Teledensity is the number of telephone connections for every hundred individuals living within an area. It varies widely across the nations and also between urban and rural areas within a country. The statistics put Nigeria's connected lines at 170. 7 million with about 130 million active lines. The GSM operators control 128 million; Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) players battle to retain 2.06 million subscribers, while the fixed wireless operator now have 184,395 subscribers. Indeed, while Glo and Etisalat made gains between the last time, NCC released subscriber figures in February, and now, MTN and Airtel subscribers recorded slight losses. The figures for the operators as at the end of February were 57,183,745 for MTN, 26,194,336 for Airtel, 24,490,650 for Glo and 18,119,397 for Etisalat. In effect, between end of February and June end, Glo added 2,836,996 new subscribers to its network, while Etisalat recorded 1,270,888 new customers. On the other hand, MTN lost 666,986 subscribers, while Airtel also lost 892,176 customers. Glo also retained its position as the MNO with the second largest Internet subscription in the country with 14.3 million active subscriptions. MTN is in the first place with 34 million, while Airtel and Etislat have 12 million and 6.8 million active Internet subscriptions respectively. Analyst opined that the massive network upgrade recently embarked upon by Glo and its bouquet of new service offerings may have given it the edge over some operators. The network expansion involved swapping of old base stations with new ones and modernization of existing infrastructure into a state-of-the-art network software and hardware. It also involves achieving 90 percent 3G coverage, the first in the industry, making it possible for Glo data subscribers across the country to experience significant service enhancement. Copyright The Guardian. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). |