Globacom gains more subscribers

A total of 14,603 mobile phone subscribers switched their service providers in April, as against the 13,757 recorded in March, according to figures released by the Nigerian Communications Commission, (NCC).

However, Globacom topped the list of gainers in the number of subscribers that have switched service providers under the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) scheme, with 7,955 customers joining its network in April. This represents 55 per cent of all customers that joined the network.

Etisalat came second on the gainers’ list, as it added 3,280 subscribers to its customer base in the same period, while Airtel with 2,816 porting-in subscribers in April, came third. MTN network had just 552 additional customers.

In terms of outgoing or porting-out subscribers, Globacom also topped the table as 6,930 left the network for other competitors leaving the network with a net addition of 1,025 subscribers. According to the re-port, MTN Nigeria also lost 3,835 subscribers to other networks in April, as against 5,489 it lost in March. Etisalat Nigeria lost 1,817 subscribers to other networks in April, as against the 3,157 it lost in March.

The implication for Etisalat is that it made a net gain 1,436 subscribers. The report also showed that Airtel lost 1,601 subscribers to other networks in April, as against the 1,457 it lost in March.

Given that only 552 ported-into MTN’s network in April, the fact that 3,835 subscribers ported out resulted in a net loss of 3,283. A total of 14,183 telecom users engaged in portingout activities across the networks in April, as against the 13,383 recorded in March.

The gain made by Globacom represented a shift from previous development where Etisalat had been making big gains in the past. In August 2013 for instance, MTN took a big hit by recording 49 per cent of the overall subscribers that have switched service providers under the MNP scheme.

NCC Director of Public Affairs, Tony Ojobo, said within the first month after the April launch of number porting that the scheme had deepened competition so far and given subscribers a choice to switch networks without losing their unique numbers, which he cited as one of the gains of the commercial roll out of GSM services in Nigeria in August 2001.

The MNP was launched on April 22, 2013 by the NCC, with the aim of deepening competition in the industry.

Generally, MNP has not been very successful but in Nigeria the increasing activities of subscribers show that they are embracing the practice and thus giving some validation to the regulator’s decision to provide the option for customers.