Glo consolidates lead in Internet subscriber acquisition in Nigeria
The latest industry report on the performances of telecommunication operators in Nigeria puts Globacom in the lead in new Internet subscriber acquisition.
An earlier report had indicated that Globacom gained the highest number of Internet users in September of 2015 with over a million new Internet users on its network, up from 20,765,379 data users in August to 21,896,229 data users in September. The figure showed an addition of over one million new Internet subscribers which was much more than the total number of new internet users who joined the three other major telecom operators, MTN, Airtel and Etisalat. The three recorded a combined total of 716,450 new Internet subscribers in September.
New statistics
According to the new statistics which showed the Internet subscriptions of the four major service providers for the last quarter of 2015, Globacom has reinforced its position as the leader in new data subscriber acquisition. A breakdown of the data showed that it was only Globacom that recorded an increase in its Internet subscriber base in the last quarter of 2015. The network had 23,285,454 Internet users in October, 24,952,559 in November and 25,082,066 in December, which is an addition of 3.2m new Internet subscribers in the quarter.
Lost data subscribers
However, MTN, Airtel and Etisalat all lost data subscribers within the period. MTN, which had a total of 41,835,294 Internet subscribers at the beginning of October 2015, had 39,924,737 data subscribers at the end of December, a decline of almost 2 million customers.
Similarly, Airtel which began the quarter with 17,730,955 internet customers ended with 16,835,952, dropping about 900,000 subscribers. Etisalat also suffered the same fate as MTN and Airtel as it lost 408,282 Internet customers, having begun the quarter with 15,598,070 data subscribers and ended it with 15,189,788.
The growth in Globacom’s data subscriber base in the last two quarters of 2015 is ascribed to Globacom’s improved Internet service delivery and robust tariff plans.
The Glo data network runs on the company’s extensive nationwide optic fibre infrastructure which is linked to its Glo 1 submarine cable that connects West Africa to Europe, America and the rest of the world.