Encomium
The next generation network, Globacom, ended the year 2015 with more laurels than any other corporate body in the nation’s telecoms industry for the significant progress it made in network expansion.
The first noticeable benefit of its massive network modernization project was the lead it maintained in aggressive subscriber acquisition streak for better part of the year.
And in recognition of that, in May, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), in its report disclosed that Globacom led other operators in acquisition of new subscribers in the first five months of the year.
According to the subscriber data information released by NCC for the month of May, Globacom activated a total of 2,263,346 new lines on its network ahead of Airtel which came second with 1,983,195 new subscribers.
That was followed in June by the National Bureau of Statistics’ (NBS) report crediting Globacom for driving the growth witnessed in the Nigerian telecommunications industry in the previous 12 months.
“The growth in subscribers was mainly driven by Globacom, which recorded an average rate of 1.45 per cent over the period, closely followed by Etisalat with 1.37 per cent and Airtel with 1.29 per cent, while MTN recorded the lowest average monthly growth in subscriber base at 0.44 per cent,” the NBS said in its report released in June 2015.
In the same June, NCC indicated that Glo gained the highest number of internet users in April with over a million new internet users on its network. The industry regulator said that Globacom had 19,690,526 subscribers surfing the net with its network in April, up from 18,617,607 users in March.
The company’s achievements were recognized by many local and international bodies in the course of 2015.
Globacom hauled three awards from the 2015 edition of the Beacon of ICT Awards, organized by CommunicationsWeek. The awards include Best Telecoms Company of the Year, Most Innovative Mobile Player of the Year and Undersea Cable Company of the Year.
According to the organisers of the awards, CommunicationsWeek, Globacom emerged tops in the award categories in an online poll of 250,000 respondents, conducted from December 2014 to March 30, 2015.
Globacom also won the Telecoms Network of the Year Award organized by Daily Independent Newspapers Limited. The organisers noted that Globacom deserved the award for empowering subscribers and for its diligent pursuit of high quality of service.
Speaking on behalf of the Newspaper, the Managing Director of Daily Independent Newspapers, Mr. Ted Iwere said, “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 and Cote D’Ivoire.”
The company was also named as one of the six most admired brands on the continent of Africa by the continent’s most outstanding business magazine, the London-based African Business.
In the ranking of brands on the African continent, the magazine indicated that Globacom polled a total Admiration Score of 345 to emerge as one of the continent’s six most admired brands. Globacom, the magazine added, beat several other multinationals in all sectors of the continent’s economy, to take one of the top six positions in the annual ranking.
The innovative company also won two awards at the Lagos Advertising and Awards Festival (LAIF 2015) held in December, 2015. The LAIF is the Oscars or Grammy of advertising in Nigeria.
It is the biggest celebration of creativity in Nigeria and by extension West Africa. The jury that gives the award is constituted by Creative directors from the leading advertising agencies in the land. Globacom won Gold and Silver in the telecommunications services category for Television Commercials.
Many other awards were won on various aspects of the company’s operation.
