Glo @17: Achievements and contributions to Nigeria

According to a June 2020 report by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Globacom has 52.6 million subscribers, which is 26.82 per cent market share. Globacam also claims to have 37.9 million of the 143.3 million Internet users in the country.

Since the inception of the company in 2003, Globacom, has consistently brought innovation, quality service delivery and benefits to its subscribers.

As the internet penetration in Nigeria continues to expand through the use of various devices like mobile phones, tablets, laptops and desktop computers, Globacom subscribers are getting online via various technology platforms including the GSM, Fixed Wire and VoIP.

Their intent on being a big player in the telecommunication space is seen with their vision statement “Building Africa’s biggest and best telecommunications network.” Its mission statement was equally ambitious: “To be the largest, most successful entertainment, information and telecommunications solutions provider in Nigeria and Africa.”

The two statements were created in sync with the image of the company’s Chairman and Founder, Adenuga, Jr., his business acumen has seen his accomplishments visible in virtually every critical sector of the economy despite his attempt to keep his life private. He is known to think and dream big – a very tenacious and dogged entrepreneur, who likes to grow his businesses to be the best in the sectors he operates in.

Industry’s Game Changer

Globacom came into the telecommunication business with the innovations that forced sweeping changes in that space.

The Per Second Billing, which the older networks said was not possible, was done by Globacom. That made it the first network in Africa to launch on a per-second billing platform. With the Per Second Billing, the company became a household name in Nigeria and within nine months, the firm made history again as the first network to amass a million subscribers in that space of time.

Globacom also brought about the crash in the cost of SIM Card from N25, 000 to N200 and reduced call tariff from N50 a minute to as low as five kobo per second. This made owning a sim card and making calls affordable for the ordinary Nigerian and thus ensured massive telephone penetration in Nigeria as millions of Nigerians who hitherto had no access to telephone services were able to own handsets. According to the International Telecommunication Union, an agency of the United Nations, Globacom played a critical role in the revolution in Nigeria’s telecommunications industry.

The launch of the Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) was another novel idea by Globacom in the Nigerian telecommunications space. Mobile banking, mobile Internet, vehicle tracking, prepaid roaming, in-flight roaming, Blackberry services, were some of the things the company took a lead at.

Technological Revolution

Glo was the first operator in Africa to launch its operations on the 2.5G network which enabled the convergence of voice, data and multimedia technologies.

The introduction of the 3G Plus technology marked the second time that Globacom pioneered the latest transmission network in Nigeria, having introduced the 2.5G technology at launch in 2003 when other operators were running on the 2G platform.

Globacom lived up to tradition when it became the first operator to launch a nationwide 4G-LTE coverage in Nigeria, thus availing its subscribers enhanced data transfer rates, unmatched mobile broadband experience and high data speeds and reliability. It has successfully done a test-run of its pilot 5G technologies in readiness for the ‘Big Data’ and IoT deployment.

Globacom has also contributed to boosting broadband connectivity in Nigeria by building and launching an international submarine cable, Glo 1. It was the first time a company would single-handedly implement such a massive undersea project in Africa. In addition to boosting the provision of services to telecom end-users, the facility is currently providing the much-needed connectivity to vital sectors of the economy such as oil and gas, manufacturing, banking, commerce, education and health, among others.

The Glo 1 submarine cable is complemented by the most extensive fibre optic backbone across Nigeria. The facility was built to further enhance voice and data transmission for mobile and fixed telephone operations in the country.

Digital solutions leader

In recent years, Globacom has continued to lead the way in Nigeria’s march to a digital future. With the introduction of a range of customized and community-driven voice and data connectivity solutions, Globacom has aided to manage complex networking systems.

Globacom also provides secured as well as verticalized IT solutions such as E-Health, Smart Cognitive Learning, Smart Energy, Industrial IoT and Cloud Applications. These solutions are particularly useful for collaborations, device management, workgroup storage, information security, among others.

Globacom’s fixed connectivity and voice products, such as Boost and Next Generation Bandwidth-on-Demand connectivity, SIP-based voice trunk and telephony, further enhance the company’s capacity to deliver advanced connectivity and fixed voice solutions to medium and large enterprises, large wholesale carriers and ISPs in Nigeria and Africa.

Fulfilling a Brand Promise

As a Nigerian brand, Globacom has stayed true to promoting and impeding a sense of pride in every Nigerian even from the pay-off line, “Glo with Pride” at launch in 2003. “Rule your World” was another line which Globacom came up with as a message of empowerment that helped build confidence in Nigerians that they can achieve their dreams, rule their world and be the best that they want to be.

For its 10th Anniversary, Glo unveiled the strapline, “Unlimited”, which was meant to reaffirm the Glo brand promise to its various stakeholders as Glo journeys into its next 10 years of operation. The new strapline heralded a brave new world, a world in which subscribers and other stakeholders could achieve anything at all if they believed in themselves.

Contribution to the growth of Nigeria’s GDP

Amidst the deluge of Globacom’s achievements since 2003, the company has also contributed massively to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

In the first quarter of 2020, the telecoms industry contributed 10.88 per cent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product, compared to less than 1% in 2003 before Globacom started business. The remarkable rise in Globacom's contribution to Nigeria’s GDP is as a result of the thousands of jobs the company has and will continue to create. With close to 4000 direct employees Globacome also creates thousands of jobs in indirect employment through the value chain – distributorship, suppliers of physical goods and services such as the building of network infrastructure, advertising and media, Globacom

But subscribers demand improved services

Amidst the innovations and fantastic services that Globacom has served, subscribers still want more. While appreciating the several innovations Globacom has brought to the Nigerian telecoms space, among which include the crashing of voice and data prices, poverty-alleviation programmes and life-impacting promos, subscribers are demanding improved services, and further expansion to areas yet uncovered in the country.

“But they need to do more. We cannot say a child of 17 years is small again, we need their services stable and strong,” a subscriber Kehinde Olatunji praised Globacom.

Another user, Chinedu Okafor, an architect, who has been a Globacom subscriber for a decade now, said: “They need to further crash data prices for Nigerians, and above all, we need a very strong signal to enjoy some of the freebies.”

This is a featured post.