By Alex C
Globacom, Nigeria’s first indigenous telecom operator, has regained the second spot in its home market after losing it temporarily to Airtel recently.
The company, owned by Nigerian billionaire Mike Adenuga had seen a concrete threat from Airtel for the second spot in the last year, falling earlier in the year as the Indian multinational stole the market following notable disruptions to Globacom services.
Recent figures released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the country’s industry regulator, revealed that Globacom had overtaken Airtel, gaining more than 4 million new customers. Glo’s subscriber base grew from 23 million to 27 million, data from NCC showed.
Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy Nigeria holds one of the most competitive telecoms market within the continent, as four major operators vying for the country’s 130 million mobile users.
Among the four, MTN, South African-based telecom firm and the continent’s largest operator holds the largest share, controlling over 55 million users. Globacom and Airtel follow just behind with a combined 50 million plus subscribers.
UAE-based Etisalat, a rapidly emerging competitor, is the last of the pack with 19 million customers. It is considered the fastest growing telco in the country according to figures from the portability system, which reveals over 50 percent of the total port-ins have gone to Etisalat.