Amid pessimism and fear among telecom
subscribers, of a possible strangulation by existing mobile phone
operators, who, by virtue of having secured licences two years earlier,
had become ‘Lords of the Arena,’ Globacom entered the Nigerian
telecommunications industry in 2003 – with uncertainty in the air. Ten
years down the line, the Second National Operator – interestingly
currently the only national operator – has given Nigerians, and indeed,
Africans cause to smile over a network that has gone beyond the shores
of one country stamping large footprints on the African continent as
an international player that meets the public’s communications needs
with unbeatable innovations.
The Forerunners; The Master
Scene 1:
‘The voice of him that crieth in the
wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a
highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain
and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be
revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the
Lord had spoken it.’ Isaiah 40: 3-5.
Prophet Isaiah is recorded to have been born in the 8th
Century BC and died in the 7th Century BC. He was a Forerunner…of the
Master that was to come!
Scene 2:
And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.
And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.
Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an
answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness,
Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias (Isaiah).
And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.
And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou
then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?
John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;
He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose
shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose. John 1:20-27.
John the Baptist: born late 1st Century BC and died AD 31 –
36. As a Forerunner, he baptised the Master, and proclaimed Him!
Indeed, both accounts from the Bible – the
first from the Old Testament; and the second, from the New Testament,
testifying and preparing the way for the coming of the Master, show
vividly the importance and the unavoidable need to prepare the way,
well beforehand, for the coming of a higher authority into an
environment.
If the Nigerian mobile telephone industry is likened to the
journey of the Israelites and humankind, then surely, one company’s
‘late entry’ has now become fortuitously a sweet tale of the coming of
the master after the way has been well prepared by forerunners.
And, this entry, without a doubt, is both cheery and
historic. For, the coming of the company changed the economic and
social equation in the once docile and nearly one-direction approach in
the provision of mobile phone services in the Nigeria.
From tariffs to value added services, from penetration to
application of new technologies; from indigenous ownership to a can-do
spirit, Globacom obviously appeared on the horizon, a clear two years
after the initial take off of mobile phone telephony in Nigeria, as the
under-dog – like Christ that was described as merely the son of a
carpenter; and, in a prophetic twist of fate, thanks to the
never-say-die spirit, the one that was hardly given any chance of
survival has become the master dictating the pace in Nigeria’s mobile
phone industry – in, among other things, competitive pricing, services,
innovation and support for the society.
The Power of Doggedness
The roads to greatness are, often times, strewn with
difficulties that stop the faint-hearted halfway. But for the daring
and courageous, they trudge on until they reach their destination. This
is the force that brought Globacom, into reckoning in the Nigerian
telecommunications industry today.
Back in the year 2000 when Nigeria was ready to break the
chains of poor communications system and announced the auction of
digital mobile licences, Communications Investments Limited (CIL), Dr.
Mike Adenuga’s company, was among the bidders for the licence, alongside
operators like MTN from South Africa and Econet from Zimbabwe. For the
licence which cost $285 million apiece, intending operators who won
the bid, among which was CIL, were asked to pay a $20 million mandatory
deposit, after which they were awarded a provisional licence and were
given a 14-day deadline to raise the balance of $265 million.
Unfortunately, the CIL payment ran into stormy waters because of a
proviso the company gave that the money it paid be refunded if the
issue around the litigious frequency it was given, was not resolved.
Consequently, the government cancelled the CIL licence and the company
lost its $20 million deposit in that transaction, which put paid to the
emergence, at that time, of a home-grown operator alongside foreign
players like MTN and Econet.
Down but not out, Adenuga went back to the drawing board
and re-strategised for future opportunities. Fast forward to 2002, as
fate would have it, another opportunity beckoned. This time around, it
was the auction for a Second National Operator (SNO) Licence and
fortunately, Globacom, owned by the same Chief Adenuga who promoted
CIL, bided and won. That led to the emergence of an indigenous telecom
player, Globacom, which can today be described as the only National
Operator given the comatose status of the so called First National
Operator, NITEL and its mobile arm, M-TEL.
If securing the licence was one big hurdle, then a bigger
hurdle awaited the operator in a market where two operators, who had
been two years ahead, had become the dominant players. But to say that
Globacom was unruffled by this fact was to say the least. As a late
entrant, Globacom was not in any way intimidated by the perceived
challenges ahead. It forged ahead with focus and was resilient in
dealing with the challenges which it turned into advantages.
On August 29, 2003, precisely, Globacom joined the cast of
telecommunications business in Nigeria, rolling out its full range of
services across the country. Coming two years behind MTN and Econet
(now Airtel), no one was certain how its journey would be – would it be
stifled by the many challenges of the industry, or would it survive and
become a phenomenon in the industry? These were questions agitating
the minds of industry watchers at that time. But today, the questions
have been answered: Globacom did not only survive to become one of the
leading operators in the country, it has also become a phenomenon in
the West African sub-region.
From the outset, Globacom came all out with a strong
determination to shake the industry for good and this it did achieve
with its innovative products that saw many Nigerians rushing to the
network that brought a new lease on life. It was not surprising that
just about nine months into its operation, Glo Mobile, Globacom’s
cellular arm, made history as the fastest growing network in Africa with
an unprecedented one million subscriber mark, covering over 87 towns
in Nigeria.
Ten years down the line, Globacom has become a truly
national operator that every Nigerian can be proud of with over 25
million subscribers on its network. Besides, Globacom has kept the
Nigerian flag flying across Africa and it is today considered as the
country’s biggest corporate export with footprints in Ghana, Benin
Republic, Senegal, Cote D’Ivoire and The Gambia.
Globacom’s Revolutionary Entry
Globacom’s entry could not have come at a better time.
Indeed, its entry marked the beginning of what is today referred to as
‘telecom revolution’ in Nigeria as the SNO came with innovations,
products and strategies that changed the status quo in the Nigerian
telecoms landscape for the better.
Per Second Billing
Prior to the arrival of Globacom in the Nigerian telecoms
scene, Nigerian subscribers who were still basking in the euphoria of
having access to telecommunications services never had it easy,
especially with the billing system. As a matter of fact, the existing
operators, MTN and Econet had left Nigerians with the impression that
nothing short of per minute billing was feasible and the subscribers
had to endure the threat of validity and expiration of call credit. At
that period, cost of acquiring a Subscriber Identification Module (SIM)
card was as high as N20, 000.
Surprisingly, Glo, on arrival changed all these with its
introduction of per second billing, which allowed Nigerians, for the
first time, to pay for only the number of seconds they spent on calls as
against minute by minute billing by competition.
N1 SIM
Besides, Glo slashed the price of SIM cards to the
astonishment of many Nigerian subscribers. Before long, other operators
had no choice than to follow the example set by Glo – of course, the
SNO had already beaten them to that by doing what they claimed was not
possible. Glo launched a N1 SIM promotion in 2004 to mark the country’s
44th independence anniversary. By dropping its Prepaid Classic SIM
card price to N1 on October 1, 2004, Glo opened its network to
potential subscribers who hitherto could not afford a mobile phone. At a
time GSM lines were selling for between N16,000 and N20,000, Globacom
sold its SIM for N6,999 with freebies worth N6,998. It also introduced
an instalment payment plan named “Talk Now” which enabled subscribers
to own a line upon payment of N2,000. The balance was then paid in easy
monthly instalments spread over a period ranging from three to six
months.
With the crashing of GSM tariffs and SIM costs, Globacom
forced down the cost of telephone services in the country and made
telephony not only accessible but affordable to millions of Nigerians.
That over 120 million Nigerians including students, artisans, and
countryside dwellers can today use the telephone is hugely attributable
to the Globacom revolution.
Globacom has not only made telephony accessible but also
completely changed the way of doing business in Nigeria. Through its
value added services, it has brought to Nigerians the benefits of
modern technological innovations. The telephone handset now serves a
whole range of purpose including internet surfing, emails, multimedia
messaging, vehicle tracking, mobile banking, accessing Microsoft
Outlook. Glo also has the capability for video conferencing.
Globacom has lived up to its commitment to ensure that
Nigerians benefit from the advances made in telecommunications and
information technology to spur economic and social success. This it
demonstrated by being the only operator in Africa to launch its
operations on the superior 2.5G network which enables the convergence
of voice, data and multimedia technologies. This robust platform not
only ensures unparalleled voice clarity and minimal drop calls, but
also enables the offering of value added services unavailable on the 2G
technology then deployed by other operators in the industry. At this
time, Globacom had concluded plans to launch the 3G network, the first
operator to do so. This follows a successful test-run and payment of
the $150 million fee for the licence. This is the second time that
Globacom has been in the forefront of pioneering 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. It
gradually earned the reputation of always being ahead of competition in
technological deployment.
The 3G technology enables a much faster
transmission of data, voice, broadband internet and multimedia services
over a range of frequencies. It allows customers to do video call,
video streaming and high-speed mobile internet access from their 3G
mobile handsets. It also offers other advanced mobile services such as
Phone to Phone Video Telephony, Video Greeting Kiosk and Video Mail
Box, phone to Fixed PC Video Telephony, Fixed PC to Phone Video
Telephony and Video conferencing on both Phones and Purchase.
GPRS
Globacom made history again in 2004 when it became the
first network in Nigeria to launch General Radio Packet Services
(GPRS). GPRS enabled by the 2.5G technology, is a platform which
guarantees high speed data transmission and multimedia messaging
services, among other benefits. It also enables the offering of other
value added services. Some of the services are Multimedia Messaging
Service (
Speaking at the launch, Mr. Jameel, said
the new pay-off line marks a natural progression in the growth of the
Glo brand identity and represents the commitment of the company to its
subscribers. To Jameel, the previous messages have not only positively
impacted the brand; they have gone a long way in positioning it as a
loving brand in the market with lots of patrons. According to him, “we
are happy at what these slogans have achieved for our company and our
subscribers who have been inspired to dream, work hard, achieve their
life objectives and rule their world. With the new pay off line,
‘Unlimited’, there is indeed no limit to what our stakeholders can
achieve if they believe in themselves,” Jameel said.
He explained that Glo will offer subscribers the power to
achieve and excel, meaning that with Glo, they can realise their dreams
and achieve endless possibilities, through unfettered access to the
best tools that will enhance their productivity and energise their
professional and social connections. ‘Unlimited’ campaign, Jameel said,
underscores the essence of the brand’s belief in the consumer in the
sense that Glo subscribers are operating without boundaries in their
attitude and altitude towards what they can achieve in life. “It means
that consumers can therefore go all out, pulling out all the stops in
the drive towards achieving their objectives because Glo is always
there to make it happen,” he said.
The new campaign is said to also represent Glo’s attitude
towards the managers of the brand which include management and staff
and other stakeholders because anything positive they seek is possible.
Jameel further explained that the new strap-line captures the relevance
of the Glo brand promise to its various stakeholders as well as staff
after the monumental success of previous strap lines such as ‘Glo with
Pride’ and ‘Rule your World’ campaigns.
“Conversely, it is also an expression of our determination to go more
than the extra mile to surpass the expectation of subscribers. This
means that our staff will always put their best foot forward in their
efforts to satisfy our key stakeholders including customers, business
partners and host communities with whom they interact from
day-to-day,”he stated.
Rewarded for Excellence
Over the years, Globacom has remained at the centre of
developments in the Nigerian telecoms sector to the admiration of many
stakeholders, who, on many occasions, could not but appreciate the
brand’s continuous efforts at giving Nigerians best services. The
plethora of awards in the company’s bag have shown that its giant
strides in the telecoms market have never gone unnoticed and these
recognitions and appreciations underscore the performance of the brand
as superior in the industry.
Ever since it rolled out in 2003, Globacom has become the
toast of subscribers by spurring technological growth and pioneering
many value added services in the Nigerian telecom sector. Aside the
fact that it came into the market with the more advanced 2.5G network
and affordable tariffs, Nigerians immediately embraced the network as
their own, being a home-grown business established by a Nigerian in
Nigeria and for Nigerians.
The network particularly took competition by surprise and
endeared itself to subscribers when it dropped the price of SIM pack to
N100 and then to zero naira, pioneered per second billing and rolled
out across the country in such a record time that the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) acknowledged Globacom as being the fastest
growing network in Africa, Asia and Middle East. No wonder the network
garnered many awards in its first year of operation, with industry
watchers and analysts falling over themselves to applaud this nascent
Nigerian miracle.
The company since inception had received over a hundred
awards, including Company of the Year, West African Mobile Company of
the Year, GSM Company of the Year, Pan African Telecoms Company of the
Year, and awards of excellence in diverse sub categories.
Ten years down the line, the miracle has not stopped, and
the applause is still resounding. Within the first four months of 2013,
the 10th year of operation, Globacom pocketed six major awards: the
Most Innovative Company for the Year for its inventiveness and
ground-breaking technology, the Best Telecoms Company of the Year for
its quality of products, services, resilience and pocket friendly
tariff as well as the Beacon of ICT Awards in four different categories
for outstanding performance in the telecoms sector.
In February this year, Glo was adjudged the Most Innovative
Telecom Company of the Year at the City People Ceremony by a Panel of
Judges made up of eminent Nigerians drawn from within the social and
industrial spectrum of the economy. Similarly, Globacom was honoured at
the Excellence Awards 2013 event held in Lagos in March with the
Telecoms Company of the Year in a star-studded event attended by
prominent socialites and top government officials including the Speaker
of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr. Adeyemi Ikuforiji.
The organisers had described Globacom as the catalyst which
triggered the revolution in the Nigerian telecoms sector, and
according to the citation, “Globacom has been in the forefront of the
pocket-friendly tariff revolution and rural penetration of
telecommunications since its inception in 2003.” The network was also
commended for pioneering several technological innovations like Magic
Plus, Blackberry, Vehicle Tracking, GPRS, MultiMedia Messaging Service,
among others. Globacom, it was noted, had contributed a lot more than
telecoms to the Nigerian society by its economic empowerment schemes
aimed at poverty alleviation across the country and its sponsorship of
sports in the country.
But Glo is not done yet, as the company also emerged the
biggest winner at the 2013 edition of the Beacon of ICT (BoICT) Awards,
taking home the Telecoms Company of the Year, Best GSM Company of the
Year, Most Innovative mobile Player of the Year and Broadband of the
Year. Certainly, many awards and recognitions are still in store for the
telecom company that has distinguished itself with innovations. Of
course, hard work never goes unrewarded.
In 2006, Globacom was awarded THISDAY newspaper Brand of
the Year and Company of the Year and just recently, it was declared
West Africa’s Most Preferred Telecommunication Company by the Nigerian
Institute of Direct Marketing.
It was also declared the network with “Better overall
Quality of Service and Billing Accuracy” in 2005 by the Nigerian
Communications Commission (NCC). Other awards won by Globacom include
Telecommunications Company of the Year, 2004 by The SUN Newspapers, GSM
Company of the Year, 2004 by Nigeria Telecom Awards, Telecom Company
of the Year, 2004 by IT Editors, GSM Outfit of the Year, 2004 by FAME
magazine and Best GSM Operator, 2004 by the National Association of
Nigerian Students (NANS Merit Award). Others are Best Telecoms Brand of
the Year, 2004 by City People, Best GSM Company of the Year, 2004 by
Global Excellence, Best Mobile Operator of the Year, 2004 at the
Nigerian Information Technology and Telecom Awards (NITTA) organised by
IT & Telecom Digest; and Subscriber’s Friendly Operator, 2003 by
Nigerian Telecommunications Subscribers and Lowest Call Drop Rate,
(2004) by Nigeria Telecom News and Brand of the Year 2005 by Nigerian
Institute of Marketing, among others.
GLO: The Pillar of Support for Nigerian, African Sports
Just recently, the news broke that the Nigeria Professional
Football League (NPFL) has received a life line with the League
Management Committee (LMC) sealing a mouth-watering deal with Globacom,
for the sponsorship of the league. This was a deal worth N1,
896,730,000 (approximately N1.9 billion) which would see Globacom
sponsor the Nigerian Premier League for the next three years.
For the keen followers of Nigerian sports, the NPFL
sponsorship was just a tip of much sponsorship that Globacom has
undertaken in the sector. In fulfilment of its corporate social
responsibility and in identifying with the game of football as the
country’s unifying factor, Globacom in the last couple of years has
been sponsoring Nigeria’s Premier league and has continued to exhibit
greater involvement in every international football engagement
involving the country’s football national teams. Glo sponsors sports
events as a way to give back to the communities within the countries it
operates.
In Nigeria, Glo sponsors the Nigeria Premier League,
Nigerian National Football Teams including the Super Eagles, U20,
U17,Super Falcons and all the female national teams and Nigeria Football
Federation. It has sponsored Glo Lagos International Half Marathon,
Glo people Police Marathon, Eyo Festival, Ojude Oba Festival, Eleghe
Festival and the Confederation of African Football’s African Footballer
of the Year Award. In the Republic of Benin, Glo sponsors the FITHEB
and CAF African Player of the Year Award. In Ghana, Glo sponsors the
Glo Ghana Premier League, the Ghana National Football Teams and the CAF
African Player of the Year Award.
In November 2009, Glo became an official partner of the
famous football club in England, Manchester United. The sponsorship
also includes young players from Benin, Ghana and Nigeria going to
Manchester to train with the club. The Chairman of Globacom, Otunba (Dr)
Mike Adenuga Jnr, made headlines when the company secured the
sponsorship and title rights of the Nigeria Premier League at an annual
fee of N639 million for four consecutive soccer seasons.
With these great commitments to sports development in
Africa, it was not surprising that CAF awarded Adenuga ‘the Pillar of
Sports in Africa’ for his strong support for African Football at both
national and continental levels. He was presented the trophy at the
opening of the 29th CAF General Assembly held in Khartoum on 10th and
11th February 2007.
Reiterating the company’s commitment to sports recently
against the backdrop of the NPFL sponsorship, Globacom’s Group Chief
Operating Officer, Mohamed Jameel, said, “Football is very close to
Nigerians and it is our duty to improve the game and make it enjoyable
for the people. For the next three years, the league will be called the
Glo Premier League and we want to assure football administrators that
as title sponsors, we will give them maximum backing”. According to
him, “We want to ensure that people attend matches; there will be
awards for the best players in the league at the end of the season. We
will also get our customers and Nigerians involved in making the league
better. We will work with the LMC to provide entertainment for
Nigerians in the next three years.”
It is also on record how the telecom company motivated and
encouraged the Nigerian Super Eagles to win the 2013 Africa Cup of
Nations. Globacom thereafter rewarded the coaching crew as well as the
players bountifully after winning the Cup for doing the country proud at
the continental tournament.
Entertainment Too
In the entertainment industry, Globacom has a bold
footprint with its promotion of actors and actresses from the Nigerian
movie industry also known as Nollywood. Today, most popular actors and
actresses like Desmond Elliot, Funke Akindele, Chioma Chukwuka-Akpotha,
Mike Ezuruonye, Ini Edo, among several others are on the stable of
Globacom as the brand’s ambassadors. The music industry is also not
left out as popular artistes such as Sammy Okposo, M.I, Flavour,
Lagbaja, P Square and a host of others find comfort in representing the
brand as ambassadors.
The company recently took the commitment a notch higher by
launching a reality Show ‘X-Factor’ to discover new music talents in
Africa. The show, which was officially launched in Lagos on 3rd March,
2013, would see the individual contestant or group of the X Factor
singing competition in Nigeria winning a whopping sum of $150,000
(N24million), as well as a recording and management contract with the
internationally acclaimed Sony Music.
According to Glo, “the X Factor” is a Reality TV singing
competition to discover new talents. It is contested by aspiring
singers, drawn from public auditions and is open to all ages, sex,
styles, solo acts or groups. A major difference between the show and
others is that the judges also double as coaches for the various
groups. It is peculiarly split in stages, following the contestants
from auditions through to the boot camp, the judges’ homes; to the
grand finale. Dancers are also featured and contestants could accompany
themselves on guitar, piano or any other musical instruments.
The X Factor TV Reality Show has been successfully launched
in major countries including UK, the United States, Albania,
Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany and Spain. Here
in Africa, Globacom pioneered the show with the competition going on in
Nigeria and Ghana.
Before this, Glo had also sponsored another singing reality
TV show, Glo Naija Sings, which also offered aspiring Nigerian singers
the opportunity to showcase their talents and pursue their dreams.
In 2005, Glo commenced Campus storm, designed to show
appreciation to Nigerian universities for their support for the network
as well as create an evening of fun and laughter that would help the
students to relax and ease their academic stress. It also offers an
opportunity for up-and-coming artistes on campus to showcase their
talents. Rock ‘n’ Rule and Lafftafest are another musical and comedy
shows designed to delight Glo subscribers. Globacom just concluded the
Slide & Bounce concert that took 11 iconic home grown stars to
eight cities namely Abuja, Benin, Ibadan, Enugu, Port Harcourt,
Calabar, Uyo and Lagos where Glo subscribers were treated to the best
in entertainment as well as rib cracking jokes from Basketmouth, Okey
Bakassi and Jimmy de Hype.
Boosting Literary Activities
In 2003, Globacom celebrated African icon and intellectual
jewel of inestimable worth, Prof. Wole Soyinka, in a show tagged “An
evening with Wole Soyinka” to a packed audience in Nigeria while
another edition was held in 2010 in Accra, Ghana. Just like the Nobel
Laureate has excelled in literature, Globacom, as an iconic brand, is
taking giant strides to attain greater heights in the telecommunication
industry in West Africa.
The association between Globacom and Nobel Laureate, Prof.
Wole Soyinka, according to the company, “is premised on the similarity
of our aspirations and characteristics in terms of developing a strong,
virile African society. Globacom’s sponsorship of Wole Soyinka Prize
for Literature in Africa is a further demonstration of the company’s
irrevocable commitment to giving value to its subscribers as well as
contributing to the intellectual development of the communities where it
has its footprints. Through the collaboration between Globacom and the
Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa, the company believes that the
brightest and best writers on the continent will be identified and
encouraged.”
Glo-ing across Africa
The story of Globacom does not end in Nigeria. As a matter
of fact, the telcos footprints are now in six African countries
including Nigeria, Benin Republic and Ghana, while it has also secured
licence in Senegal, Cote D’Ivoire and The Gambia, thus giving the brand
a pan-African status. Globacom began operations in the Republic of
Benin on June 5, 2008, and emerged as the first network in the country
with nationwide coverage. In a market where the leading operator has
about one million lines in eight years of operation, Glo Mobile Benin
ramped up about 800,000 subscribers within 10 months of operation and
today has over one million customers.
Like it did in Nigeria and Benin, Globacom’s entry into
Ghana caused a shake, indeed, a stir in the Ghanaian telecom market.
Glo hit Ghana last year and broke the yawning gap in telecommunications
services in the country by offering world-class innovative products
and services, which help improve the way the people of Ghana live and
work. Interestingly, prior to its official launch, about 1.5 million
subscribers had reserved their lines on the Glo network, which has
capacity to handle over 10 million lines. And with the launch, they
started redeeming their reserved numbers.
Glo Mobile Ghana kicked off its services in May 2012 with
an amazing product called ‘Good Day Ghana’ which enables all Glo
subscribers to enjoy mouth-watering offerings such as Free Unconditional
20Gp airtime daily for 100 days; Free Calls From Midnight to 5:00am;
Bonus on In-coming Calls; Up to 100 per cent Bonus on Recharges; and
Sweet Number which enables subscribers to call one special person at
2Gp per minute.
Globacom Management said the company has rolled out the
most modern telecommunications network and is introducing into the
market abundant, superior and attractive value offerings in all the 10
regions of the country from day one, a feat that other telecom operators
in the country could not achieve.
“Glo Mobile is rolling out services on the Number Code 023 and can be
experienced in every major town in Ghana. From the day we won the
licence, we promised Ghanaians that we would replicate our success
stories in the West African region as market-leaders in innovation,
consumer loyalty reward and excellent service delivery. We are proud
that we have kept that promise today,” the company affirmed.
Glo Mobile declared that, like its parent company,
Globacom, Glo Mobile Ghana will be guided by its core values, which
include value for money, transparency, world class service offerings and
a never-say-die attitude. It noted that Glo had already demonstrated
its passion for the country by sponsoring events and national assets
that promote national unity, literary excellence, peace, tranquillity
and the happiness of the Ghanaian people. Such sponsorships include the
Ghana national football teams and the Glo Ghana Premier League.
If Glo’s entry made a huge impact, its achievement of two
million subscriber mark in just four months of its operation sprang
surprises in the country’s telecom industry. With that development, Glo
Mobile Ghana cornered over eight per cent of the market share in just
four months, a feat that has been described as phenomenal and
unprecedented in the country.
On account of this astounding performance, it was certain
that Glo was going to break many new grounds in Ghana. It was therefore
not a surprise when in June this year, Glo Mobile Ghana won the
Fastest Growing Telecommunications Network Award and the Network with
the Most Innovative Product Award at the 3rd edition of the Ghana
Telecoms Awards (GTA) held in Accra. Organised by the United
Kingdom-based Mobile World Magazine, the annual Ghana Telecom Awards
(GTA) is the biggest platform for celebrating and recognising
excellence and achievement in Ghana’s telecommunications sector.
MMS), Magic Plus, Glo Mobile Internet, Glo Direct, Glo Fleetmanager, Glo M-Banking and Glo Mobile Office.
In 2005, Glo Mobile introduced the Glo Fleet Manager, which
is the most comprehensive Vehicle Tracking Solution by any telecom
operator. Glo Fleet Manager helps transporters and fleet operators
manage their fleet effectively and efficiently. Also in 2006, Glo
Mobile became the first operator in Nigeria to introduce BlackBerry, a
revolutionary wireless solution that keeps mobile users around the
world connected to people and information on the go.
Rapid Expansion
In 2007, Glo started running a ring round the entire
country with its $700 million nationwide fibre optic transmission
network. The fibre cable network covers the entire Lagos-Abeokuta-Ibadan
route, Lagos-Ijebu Ode-Ore-Benin route, Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano route
and the Benin-Enugu-Port Harcourt route, among others. The first phase
spans 10,000km, covering all the major cities in the country, including
Benin-Warri-Port Harcourt; Port Harcourt-Aba-Umahia-Owerri;
Owerri-Onitsha-Enugu-Oturkpo-Markudi; Markudi-Lafia-Abuja and
Ibadan-Ilorin-Jebba-Mokwa-Bida-Minna-Abuja.
The Glo Gateway has been described as the biggest voice and
data carrier in the West African sub-region. Globacom made history in
2004 as the first operator in Africa to launch gateway switches outside
the continent to carry international voice and data traffic. The
international switches in the United Kingdom, United States and Africa
strategically position the network as a major player in the global
telecommunications industry. The international switches enable Glo’s
network to directly interconnect other leading international carriers
and originate and terminate voice traffic to over 240 destinations
worldwide. And this has led to a significant improvement in traffic
aggregation for the West African telecoms market.
Besides, Globacom has over 300 roaming partners in 170
countries worldwide and these include all major commercial hubs such as
UK, USA, France, Germany, UAE, Belgium, South Africa, Saudi Arabia,
Brazil, India and China. The telecom company has the reputation of being
the pioneer in Prepaid Roaming, which has spread to UK, South Africa,
Spain, Turkey, Algeria, Belgium and Ukraine, and GPRS roaming service,
which is the strongest available in Nigeria, extending to over 70
countries worldwide.
The Second National Operator has not relented in reaching
the unserved communities in the sub-region as it continually spreads
its tentacles to new towns, communities and villages, penetrating rural
Nigeria with telecommunications services. As it clocks 10 years this
August, and looking back into the last one decade, definitely,
Globacom’s entry into the Nigerian telecoms arena has been a symbol of
phenomenal growth – it indeed marked the beginning of the real telecom
revolution.
Distinguished by Pocket -friendly Offerings
In its 10 years of operation, Globacom has become a brand
that Nigerians have grown to love, not just for being the only
indigenous telecom operator, but especially for its innovative value
offerings. Just as it pioneered many innovations in the industry,
Globacom has been at the forefront of delivering quality services at
affordable cost tariffs.
Building on its reputation of providing subscriber-friendly
packages, Glo had launched what it described as ‘the best value offer
in the country’s telecom industry’ with its ‘Glo Infinitio’. The
revolutionary tariff plan offers call rates of 25 kobo per second to all
networks starting from the very first second. The Glo Infinito came
with two options: the first option allows subscribers to select a
special number (Glo), which they can call at a rate of 2 kobo per
second with no monthly rental. The second option allows them to select
five special numbers (Glo), which they can call at the rate of 18 kobo
per second with no monthly rental.
The company noted that unlike other tariffs in the market,
the 25 kobo per second charge is a flat rate which applies for all
local calls irrespective of which network is being called or time of
day, or which part of the country the call is originating from. “The
package also allows subscribers to call one Special Number at only 2
kobo per second. Interestingly, no daily or monthly rental is charged
to enjoy the very cheap rate. The subscriber, however, has an option of
registering five Glo numbers which he can call at 18 kobo per second.
Again, registration is free and there is no rental charge. In addition
to the amazing tariffs, Glo is also offering up to 20 per cent bonus on
recharges made by subscribers. N500 recharge attracts a 10 per cent
bonus credit, while N1000 recharge will give the customer 15 per cent
bonus air time. On the other hand, N5,000 recharge gives a 20 per cent
bonus credit to the customer. Glo is also offering free night calls
from 12 midnight to 5 a.m. Subscribers are expected to have used up to
N200 air time in the previous week to qualify to make free night calls
for the next 7 days,” the company said in a statement announcing the
package.
Globacom said the tariff package was designed to offer
subscribers real value for their money by ensuring that what they see is
what they get, without any hidden charges or conditions that usually
characterise such offerings by competition and thereby position Glo as
best value provider in the market. “We are offering a new tariff plan
that gives the customer maximum value. You are charged 25 kobo right
from the first second to the last second. Competing tariffs either
charge monthly daily rentals or charge higher for the first 60 seconds
and drop the rates for subsequent seconds. When you do the calculations
properly and add the rental payment or consider the charge for the
first 60 seconds, you will realise such tariffs are indeed not as
attractive as they are made to look”, the company assured at the launch
of the package.
But with the new Glo offer, the subscriber gets a truthful
and easy-to-understand payment plan. For instance, while the Glo
subscriber pays N15 for first minute of call made within and outside the
network, other networks charge between N24 and N30 for calls within
the network and between N30 and N36 for calls going outside the
network.
The Group Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Mohamed Jameel,
explained that even where other networks drop their tariff from the
second minute, the rental or first minute high charge robs off any
savings the customer may have made. “This can be illustrated with a
3-minute or 5-minute call on the Glo network for which the subscriber
will pay N45 or N75 respectively. The same durations of call on other
networks will be charged at between N60 and N104 and between N90 and
N174 respectively depending on the operator. Glo therefore, offers much
better value than any other network,” he explained.
He also stated that the Glo Special Number at 2k per second
and the Family and Friends package – five numbers at 18 kobo per
second — are the best such offers in the market as competing packages
have rental fees and conditions attached to the benefits. He added that
the company would carry on with its long-established tradition of
leading the vanguard of innovative services and affordable tariffs in
the telecommunications industry.
Indeed, Glo still has more coming. In one fell swoop,
Globacom rolled out four different packages in November 2010, through
which the company said it aimed at optimising call costs for its
subscribers based on its ‘Expect More’ campaign platform. The four
packages include More Classic, More Prime, More Business and More
Power. The packages give the subscriber savings of between 10 and 60
per cent on monthly spend depending on the chosen tariff package.
Globacom’s General Manager, Prepaid Marketing, Ashutosh
Tiwary, said that in addition to the huge savings on calls, the four
packages also give subscribers 10 to 20 per cent free Glo-to-Glo bonus
talk time on every recharge of N500 and above, 20 free Glo-to-Glo SMS
every month and 35 hours free Glo-to-Glo talk time per week from 12
midnight to 5 a.m.
This was to be followed by the launch of Glo Flexi, Glo
Yarn-me-more and Glo 1derful in 2011. The Glo Flexi is said to offer up
to 99 per cent discount on calls made, depending on the time of the
day and geographical location of the subscriber.
The GCOO, Mr. Jameel, said at the launch that the new Glo
Flexi plan offers the biggest discounts ever offered by any
telecommunication network in the country, as subscribers can talk for as
low as 1Kobo/sec.
The Glo Yarn-Me-More came with propositions that after the
first 60seconds/1minute (daily) call charged at the rate of 55k/s, the
subscribers can enjoy 15k/s Glo to Glo calls and 25k/s glo to other
networks calls. The Glo 1derful on the other hand rewards the customer
with free minute on a call for every minute and gets the next minute of
that call free, irrespective of whether the call is on-net or off-net.
According to the company, the prepaid tariff enables users to pay for
one minute, while Glo pays for the next minute of the call.
Specifically targeted at the youth segment of the market
was Globacom’s ‘G-BAM Hi 5ive’, which was described as another
revolutionary product to satisfy the yearnings of youths for affordable
calls with freebies. According to the company, G-Bam Hi 5ive allows
subscribers to call five special numbers at only five kobo per second.
It offers a unique proposition to the youths of Nigeria by making the
immensely popular and ubiquitous social networking site Facebook free.
It also offers subscribers several other attractive benefits including
free airtime on activation, free night calls and lowest SMS charges in
the Nigerian telecoms market.
G-BAM Hi 5ive seems to be a hybrid of Glo Infinito but with
more interesting features coming with different options such as: G-BAM
Weekender, which allows subscribers to chat for free from Friday 6pm
to Saturday 6am and Saturday 6pm to Sunday 6am.
G-BAM Bonus allows the subscribers to earn N500 Free
airtime upon SIM activation and recharge. This include bonus of N100 on
activation (N50 to any network and N50 to Glo) plus bonus of N200 each
on first and second recharge of N200 or more within seven days of
activation. G-BAM Social enables free Facebook browsing between 1am and
6am every day. G-BAM Nites gives free night calls, while G-BAM
Scholars offers the subscribers the chance of winning $5 million in
scholarships.
Most recently, Globacom, in its characteristic manner of
empowering the Nigerian youth, launched Glo Bounce, a product which
enables youths to make calls for as low as 5K per call and send SMS for
as low as 3K per SMS from Nigerian campuses. Customers on Glo Bounce
stand to enjoy the Campus Zone rate of 5k per second to any Glo line
and a flat rate of 10k per second to all other networks.
Other benefits in the product include free data of 30MB on
every recharge of N200 and above, one free SMS for every SMS sent by
the subscriber, free browsing on Facebook, free ring back tunes for one
month and free night calls from 12 midnight to 5 am for every
subscriber who uses a minimum of N30 before midnight.
“Glo Bounce is a special package with unrivalled benefits that takes
into consideration the lifestyle needs of the youths and ensures that
they get the best from the Glo network. Glo Bounce provides the youths
with unlimited opportunities and the right tools to achieve their
dreams,” said Tiwary, Globacom’s General Manager, Consumer Marketing at
launch.
He added: “Because of the youth target for the product, the
campus zone rate of N5k per second will be available in all tertiary
institutions across the country. This is a big opportunity for youths
everywhere to interact with their peers on the Glo network and enjoy
these unlimited benefits.”
He urged Nigerian youths to migrate to Bounce in order to enjoy the
superior benefits it offers. He stated that the product is targeted at
all existing and new prepaid customers on the Glo network, especially
those who are youthful or young-at-heart.
“With Bounce, our target is to create the largest youth community in
Nigeria. It is a great platform for the youths to express themselves
and reach the heights of their aspiration. With Campus zone, the
students will now want to ‘live’ on the campus because they are able to
connect with anybody, anywhere on Glo at 5k per second which is the
lowest call rate in Nigeria”, he said.
“We foresee that Glo Bounce will have a transformational impact on
the youths of Nigeria and on the way they use their phones and other
services and features for far reaching impact”, he added.
Getting Older and Stronger with Massive Network Expansion
No doubt, Globacom is seen as one of the strongest and best
networks in the country today, yet, the telecom company believes its
services can only get better with bigger capacity. This was the
intention of the company when it recently signed contracts with four
giant telecommunications equipment vendors for the upgrading and
expansion of its network. The expansion, which comes as the company
celebrates its 10 years of robust telecommunications operations in
Nigeria, is to upscale the network to the latest technology in global
telecommunications.
The multi-million dollar expansion projects being executed
by world’s global telecommunications equipment vendors, Alcatel-Lucent,
Huawei, ZTE and Ericsson, and which are nearing completion, include
building of new switches, increasing of mobile switching centres (MSCs)
to ease congestion, and construction of additional 4,000 km of optic
fibre cable which would complement the existing fibre optic facility
which is the most extensive fibre coverage of Nigeria. Glo has
state-of-the-art IP/MPLS and TDM technologies (30 gigabyte capacity) to
meet requirements of enterprise customers, video, voice and data
services.
The TDM network is being upgraded to a fully integrated
Generalised Multi-Protocol Label Switching (GMPLS). Part of the upgrade
also includes the installation of new base stations and densification
of existing ones, setting up of three new mini call centres across the
country to take care of vast increase in subscriber figures and upgrade
of the radio access network which will ensure that data customers enjoy
unparalleled speed and reliability.
Group Chief Operating Officer, Mr Mohamed Jameel, said that
as part of the 10th anniversary celebration, the massive expansion
project which has already started, involves network upgrade and
overhaul of infrastructure across the country as well as expansion and
densification projects that would on completion within the next one
year, enable the network to cater for its existing and potential
subscribers.
“It is our 10th anniversary and we have been the network of choice
for Nigerians because of the unprecedented manner with which we
pioneered various technologies and products in the market. We are
upgrading in order to continue to serve them better. After 10 years in
business, we decided to upscale our network ten-fold to the very latest
technology in global telecommunications. The massive expansion project
will involve network upgrade and overhaul of infrastructure across the
country as well as expansion and densification projects that will on
completion enable the network to cater more for its existing and
potential subscribers,” Jameel stated.
“This will make Globacom the number one network in terms of
investment. With leading telecoms equipment vendors such as
Alcatel-Lucent, Huawei, ZTE and Ericsson as partners, we are determined
to put in place the most robust and the best voice and data network in
Africa. The upgrade will lead to significant improvement in the quality
of voice, increase the speed of data services and installation of new
platforms for innovations in service provision,” said Jameel.
“We are building a brand new network based on latest technology and
adequate capacity to cater for our growing subscriber base. The project
will include the optimisation of the existing Base Transceiver
Stations (BTS) both 2G and 3G for high speed data transmission, and
full integration of our backbone infrastructure with the
Glo1international submarine cable”, he added.
The Journey from ‘Rule Your World’ to ‘Unlimited’
When it came into the market in 2003, the brand was
launched with ‘Glo with Pride’, obviously to promote and build a sense
of pride in every Nigerian by providing a world-class indigenous telecom
network which offered Nigerians the platform to succeed in different
fields of human endeavour. This was later followed with the ‘Rule your
World’ campaign 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.
Interestingly, on the heels of its 10 years celebration in
the country, the company saw the need to move to the next level and
that comes with a promise of giving the subscribers boundless
opportunity to excel, hence, the unveiling of its new pay-off line,
‘Glo Unlimited’. According to the company, with ‘Unlimited’ as the new
pay-off, the brand has only encapsulated Glo’s commitment to enable
subscribers achieve their dreams and desires, while embodying its
attitude towards stakeholders. It was further stated that the new pay
off line sign-posts a commitment that the brand will always be there
for stakeholders, while facilitating the realisation of their desires
anywhere in the world, through the brand’s top class network.
Explaining why it gave the Fastest Growing
Telecommunications Award to Glo Mobile Ghana, the organisers cited the
record by Ghana’s telecoms regulatory agency, the National
Communications Authority, which credited the network with acquiring one
million subscribers within 90 days of operation and 2.47 million
subscribers within 14 months, a feat described as unprecedented. Ahead
of its launch, Glo Mobile Ghana had successfully reserved 1.7 million
numbers for subscription.
The organisers of the GTA said the feat achieved by Glo was
even more profound because the company reached the height in spite of
the new SIM Card registration regulation which disallows instant
subscription by customers. According to the organisers, the ‘Glo Biiiig
5’ promo, an innovative tariff plan which gives Glo customers
instantly five times usage credit for the value of every respective
recharge made, earned the company the second accolade.
Glo entered the Ghana telecoms market as the sixth operator
and began commercial business on April 29th 2012, at a time when
market watchers and all the experts considered Ghana’s telecoms sector
as being overly saturated and without any room for a new player. Like
Nigeria, the company took its chances, and with determination and
customer-centric offerings, has succeeded in claiming an enviable size
of the market for itself.
International Footprint with Glo-1 Boost
Of the list of many firsts that the Globacom company has
recorded on the African continent as a telecommunications company, its
boldness and bravery to single-handedly build and deliver an $800
million high-capacity fibre-optic cable known as Glo-1, took the
continent by surprise. Globally, the tradition is for a consortium of
telecommunication companies to team up to set up a submarine cable
network to enhance their connectivity and bandwidth capacity. However,
Globacom became the first privately owned telecommunications operator
in the world to own its submarine cable.
Ever since the cable made its historic landing in 2009 at
the Alfa Beach in Lagos, the story of bandwidth in Nigeria and of
course in Africa has changed completely for good. Coming at a time when
bandwidth capacity was a great challenge for the continent, Glo-1
delivered Africa from importation of bandwidth due to the inadequacy of
SAT 3 that could only guarantee just a speed a bit over 200gigabytes
per second. The prevailing scenario then had made the cost of doing any
business making use of data/Internet services too high.
The 9800km cable comes from Bude in UK and connects Nigeria
to the rest of West Africa and the UK. It has landing points in
Nigeria, London and Lisbon in Portugal and it is deploying 16 branching
units to connect countries in West Africa. Speaking against the
backdrop of the cable landing in 2009, Globacom’s Executive Director,
Human Resources, Mr. Adewale Shangowawa, had noted that with the
landing of the Glo1 submarine cable, Globacom had scored another first
and as well had taken a bold step to give Nigeria the lead in the
magical broadband revolution in Africa.
According to Sangowawa, globally, the tradition is for a
consortium of telecommunication companies to team up to set up a
submarine cable network to enhance their connectivity and bandwidth
capacity. Globacom has become an exception to the norm. It is the first
single telecommunication company in the world to own its submarine
cable. The high capacity optic fibre cable brings direct connectivity
between West Africa, the UK and the rest of the world. The 9,800 km
long cable also provides huge capacity on its 2-fibre pair system. In
addition to these, the cable also provides excess bandwidth to all the
cities connected to the cable.
This also translates into much faster and more robust
connectivity for voice, data and video. The cable connects 14 West
African countries through the branching units to the rest of the world.
The cable has since been boosting economic activities in the region,
just as it creates job opportunities and serves companies in Europe and
Africa.
Glo 1 provides connectivity from Lagos to Bude in United Kingdom
through fibre optic cable laid undersea. The cable which is of the 32
STM 64 type has virtual infinite capacity and therefore offers
sufficient capacity for traffic for the Globacom’s mobile, fixed, and
internet telecommunication services.
With the Cable, Globacom through Glo-1 has been offering a
choice of wide range of bandwidths: a highly reliable and secure
service, cost-effective usage, SLA-based services, wholly-owned
international connectivity and partnerships with operators worldwide;
extensive own network coverage and reach within Nigeria; end-to-end
connectivity, including local loops at both ends, 24/7/365 NOC and call
centre support; professional account management with a single point of
contact; and consultative approach to customised solutions that suit
customer requirements. Other product and services of Glo-1 include IP
Wholesale and IP Transit (Dedicated Internet Access).
Across its countries of operation, the network has received
a great boost from the Glo-1 international submarine cable. The
facility has opened up a whole vista of unprecedented opportunities for
businesses, government institutions and individuals and ushered in a
new era of prosperity by giving people much better access to more
affordable broadband.
Potential for further growth
In an industry replete with a number of challenges,
Globacom has trudged on for 10 years to succeed in many ways. However,
since perfection is impossible in telecom business, there are a few
areas where the company can improve its services and give even more
value to its subscribers.
As a National Operator with licence to roll out fixed
lines, many believe that Globacom could do more to extend the benefits
of fixed line telephony to the public. Already, Globacom has launched
the fixed telephony services in the country; but the spread and
penetration it has achieved with the mobile is light years away when
compared with its fixed line offerings. And, the public yearns for
this, in order to ease the pressure on mobile.
Although the issue of poor service quality is a general
problem facing the industry as a result of many obvious factors,
subscribers are looking forward to a network that will, against all
odds, offer the best among the rest and they look up to Globacom to do
this given its prowess in the telecom sector. Of course, the network
may be considered as one of the best, given the prevailing
circumstances in the country, there is still room for improvement and
it is hoped that with its recent additional investments in network
upgrade and capacity extension, Globacom would be able to blaze the
trail of offering the best quality service in the industry.
Above all, the government will need to address the myriad
of challenges bordering on infrastructures and issues such as right of
way, multiple taxation, multiple regulation, among others, to give all
operators in the country the leverage to improve their service quality.
The Company: Globacom
Since launch in 2003, Globacom has remained the leading
light in Nigeria’s telecommunications industry, delivering innovative
services and playing significant roles in the country’s journey to
development.
Globacom firmly established itself as a leader in
innovation when it became the first network to launch on per second
billing and the first to introduce it in Nigeria. The innovation by
Globacom made it possible for GSM users to pay for only actual time
spent on the phone. It also immediately assumed the role of a catalyst
in ensuring reliable and affordable telecom services. Through the
crashing of the cost of GSM line and call costs from N20,000 and N50 a
minute respectfully to as low as N200 and 5 kobo per second, the
company has ensured massive telephone penetration in Nigeria. By making
telephony accessible to the common man, Glo has accelerated national
development. That over 120 million Nigerians in both urban and rural
areas today have access to the telephone is attributable to the
network’s intervention. The International Telecommunication Union, an
agency of the United Nations, in 2004 commended Globacom for the
revolution in the Nigerian telecommunication industry.
With the pioneering of latest technology and wide range of
value added services, Globacom has consistently supported efforts to
empower the people of Nigeria and accelerate national development.
Among the revolutionary products pioneered by Globacom in the country
are Blackberry, vehicle tracking, mobile internet, mobile banking,
multimedia messaging service (MMS), in-flight roaming services, voice
SMS, Magic Plus and Text2email. The company, through its Glo TxtCash
service, is playing a leading role in the realisation of government’s
cashless society by providing the technological platform for the
nation’s leading banks to launch mobile money services.
Globacom has also become the first network to launch the
first 4G-LTE network in Nigeria. The launch, which is on a trial basis,
effectively put Nigeria in the League of Nations where Long Term
Evolution (LTE) has continued to gain ground. LTE is a revolutionary
Fourth Generation Mobile Technology, which enhances data transfer
rates, delivering unmatched mobile broadband experience and highest
data speeds and reliability.
In keeping with its aspirations to avail Africa the
possibilities offered by broadband, Globacom built an international
submarine cable, Glo 1. This is the first time in Africa any privately
owned telecommunications company has undertaken such a project single
handedly. Today, critical sectors from oil and gas to manufacturing,
banking, commerce, education and health are benefiting from the
technological revolution in Nigeria and Ghana. The cable facilitates
teleconferencing, distance learning, disaster recovery and telemedicine,
among several other benefits for the African people.
The magical possibilities which Glo 1 offers the continent
puts Globacom on a good pedestal to realise its vision to be the
largest, most successful entertainment, information and
telecommunications solutions provider in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
Also in further pursuit of this vision, Glo has extended operations to
Republic of Benin, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal and Gambia. Globacom
recently hit the 35 million subscriber mark across the markets where it
operates following Glo Ghana’s acquisition of two million subscribers
in just four months of operations.
Its international Wholesale Voice and Data Exchange and
Trading Business Unit, Glo Gateway, is a leading provider of telephone
hub services for the rest of the world. It has voice interconnectivity
arrangement with over 70 Tier 1 and Tier 2 Carriers and Roaming
partnerships with over 370 mobile operators worldwide. Globacom is the
first operator in Africa to launch gateway switches outside the
continent to carry international voice and data traffic. This
strategically positions the network as a major player in the global
telecommunication industry.
Globacom has commenced commercial operation on its fixed
line service (Broad Access). The fixed network offers convergent phone
and broadband internet services. It gives users of Broad Access
telephones and broadband internet services unmatched voice clarity and
instant, unlimited access to the internet at unimaginable speed.
The company believes that a corporate entity has
obligations to the society where it operates, and, therefore, invests
heavily in social intervention. It is the biggest supporter of sports
in Africa. It is the sponsor of the national teams in Nigeria and Ghana
as well as the Premier League in Ghana. Globacom is also the sponsor of
the annual Confederation of African Football (CAF) Awards, which it
has elevated to a major event in the global football chart. It has just
instituted the Glo Soccer Academy to help youths in West Africa to
develop their football skills. The winners from the Academy enjoy
training at the Manchester United Training School in England.
Globacom has also extended its sports development programme
to golf with the sponsorship of the Glo Golf Tour West Africa. With
huge investment in the tour, the Glo Golf Tour offers the biggest pro-am
purse for golf in Africa. The company is also at the forefront of
private sector-led poverty eradication initiatives in several states
across the country. This is in addition to its huge support in the
educational sector where Globacom has donated blocks of classrooms to
schools in Onitsha, Ijebu-Ode, Ibadan and many others.
Strategic Business Units
Glo Mobile
Glo Mobile, a subsidiary of Glo; it is Glo’s Mobile Network
Unit. In the first year of operation, it had one million subscribers
in over 87 towns and cities in Nigeria and over N120 billion in
revenue. Glo Mobile has now spread its reach to other parts of Africa,
namely the Republic of Benin and Ghana.
Glo Gateway
Glo Gateway, is Glo’s International Wholesale Voice and
Data Exchange Trading Business Unit. Due to an expansion program which
took place in 2008, Glo Gateway now covers 140 countries under its
roaming services, and it is currently connected to 235 networks. Year
2008 also saw growth in Glo’s data roaming for mobile phones, laptops
and BlackBerry handsets, with spread now to 72 networks in 29
countries.
On the global stage Globacom has built strategic partnerships
with over 40 Tier One Carriers of International repute. Large Telecos
such as AT&T, BT, France Telecom, TeliaSonera, Sprint and T-Systems
to name a few use Globacom’s state of the art Gateway to connect their
customers into Africa. This now gives GLO the largest roaming
coverage for voice and data in Africa.
Broad Access
As a part of Glo’s service offering, Glo Broad Access will
be vastly improved by the laying of the fibre optic cable for the metro
ring, which is progressing steadily. The Glo Broad Access was launched
on the 24th of November 2009. It offers landline telephones, broadband
internet and video, all on a single digital wire line.
Glo 1 Submarine Cable
Glo-1 is the first successful submarine cable from the
United Kingdom to Nigeria, and Glo is the first privately owned African
company to embark on such a project. It has the potential to provide
high speed internet services, faster, more reliable and affordable
telecom services for the public. Glo-1 will potentially facilitate
foreign investment and employment opportunities especially to Africans.
The 9,800 km long cable originates from Bude in the UK and
it is laid from its origin to Alpha Beach in Lagos, where it will have
its Landing Station. Glo-1 will also improve teleconferencing,
distance learning, disaster recovery and telemedicine among several
other benefits for Nigerians and the people of West Africa.
Mike Adenuga: The Man Behind the Revolution
The Mike Adenuga Group which is the umbrella for many
thriving businesses comprises Equatorial Trust Bank (now Sterling
Bank), Conoil Plc, a petroleum marketing company, Conoil Producing, a
crude exploration company and Globacom.
A native of Ijebu Igbo in Ogun State, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr.
(GCON) (Michael Adeniyi Isola Adenuga) was born on April 29, 1953,
seven years before Nigeria’s independence, in the ancient city of
Ibadan into the family of Chief Mike Adenuga Snr, a school teacher and
Madam Oyindamola Adenuga, a successful trader and Yeye Oba of
Ijebuland.
He attended the famous Ibadan Grammar
School, in Oyo State for his secondary education and furthered in
Business Administration at Northwestern State University, Alva,
Oklahoma in the United States. He also obtained a Master’s degree at
Pace University, New York, majoring in Business Administration with
emphasis on Marketing.
Dr Adenuga oversees a vast business empire with investment
in Oil, Banking, Real Estate, International Trade and lately
Telecommunications. The chapters of his life will be incomplete without
the mention of his sojourn abroad as a young man in search of
opportunities. He was able to pay his way through school with money
made as a taxi driver and as a security guard in early phases of his
life.
A man who thrives in hard work, Adenuga’s entrepreneurial
acumen has earned him national and international success and attracted
national attention as far back as 1991 when his Consolidated Oil
Limited struck oil in commercial quantity. He is reputed to have
distinguished himself in the business of importation at the age of 22!
And ever since, his vast empire continues to grow in leaps and bounds.
The man Adenuga is a compendium of many things. He is a
husband , father, benefactor, leader, role model and an entrepreneur
par excellence; one that can also be crowned as one of the pioneers of
modern Nigerian economic development.
A man of abundant positive energy and immense personal
drive, Adenuga has made giant strides in several business categories.
Nigerians will probably remember him more for his timely intervention
in telecommunications arena, where he seems to hold the aces that
determine the pace of play. Globacom’s historic introduction of per
second billing and subsequent crashing of SIM price was like an act
carried by knight in shining armour to rescue a dying female; indeed he
saved the Nigerian people from the brute of charges of earlier
operators. This did not only skew to the GSM equation in its favour but
has continued to hold a lot of implications for the fledgling
telecommunications sector.
The green colour of Globacom can as well be described as an
undying patriotism for his country, Nigeria. A firm believer of the
Nigerian dream, Adenuga paves the way for many giving spirits to the
seeming bleakness of the people, championing the belief that only
Nigerians can save the country as no foreigner would do it for us.
He has got the Midas touch as everything he touches seems
to turn to pure gold. He is truly the David of modern Nigeria, bringing
down cities and frightful challenges as gargantuan and impossible
Goliath.
Some years back, he was honoured with the national award of
Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) by former President Olusegun
Obasanjo, but that was just a tip considering the great impacts this
business mogul continues to make on the nation’s economy. And that
obviously explains his conferment of the Grand Commander of the Order
of the Niger (GCON) National Award, which is the second highest in the
land, by President Goodluck Jonathan last year.
Adenuga will go down in history as a man who shouted ‘here I am’ when life summoned.
