By Odunewu Segun
Globacom, Nigeria’s first indigenous telecoms company has grown its share of the telecommunications market from 21 to 24 per cent, having received 68 per cent (5,063,895) new GSM lines in 12 months.
This was contained in the report on performances of telecoms operators on the website of the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC).
Figures released by NCC said 7,477,977 new lines were connected between June 2015 and June 2016. Of these, Globacom recorded 5,063,895 subscribers, representing 68 per cent, while Airtel added 2,414,082 customers.
Both MTN and Etisalat lost 382,336 and 4,403,344 subscribers.
MTN, which held a firm grip on the sector with over 45 per cent market share, now holds 39 per cent by end of June with 58.4 million subscribers. This came down from its 62,813,111 subscribers at the same time last year.
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Glo has significantly reduced the gap between it and MTN, while opening up a substantial gap between it and Airtel. Both Glo and Airtel were at par in terms of market share, with each having 21 per cent.
Airtel grew its subscriber base from 29,564,766 mid last year to 31,978,848 at the end of June, still having 21 per cent share of the market.
On its part, Etisalat recorded 22,469,896 customers as at June, a reduction from 22,852,232 last year.
Recall that it made substantive growth in its subscribers’ number by moving from 23 million subscribers in the first quarter of the year to 27 million subscribers in the second quarter, to become the second largest telecoms operator in the country after MTN that had always maintained the leadership position by subscriber number.