Development in the Industry. Operators-Part 1
There has been huge development in the telecommunication industry in Nigeria with several benefits to the economy- Job creations, improved connectivity, reduced call tariffs, development of products, just to mention a few.
A quick overview of these development cannot be complete without mentioning the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited, or NITEL, a principal telecommunications company in Nigeria owned by the government of Nigeria until it was sold to Mtel by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).
Nitel was responsible for all wired telecommunications in Nigeria. MTEL was the mobile telephony arm of NITEL.
Recently in 2015, the government finalized a transaction that saw NITEL and Mtel's assets which is now called NATCOM.
Currently, we have 4 Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) operators in Nigeria namely MTN Nigeria Communications Limited, Airtel Networks Limited, Emerging Market Telecommunications Services Limited (Etisalat) and Globacom Limited .
Telecommunication companies in Nigeria generate huge revenues that surpass their returns in other African countries.
In the beginning, it was not so. There were three operators in Nigeria and the first being Econet. In 2001, Econet Nigeria won the GSM license auction with the other two operators being MTN Nigeria and MTEL.
Econet has had to change management several time from Econet to Vodacom to Vmobile, to Celtel followed by Zain and finally Airtel.
The entry of new operators has increased the competition in the telecoms sector with the end user subscriber being better for it.
As at November 2015, there are over 149 million active subscribers riding on the GSM technology in Nigeria.
The entry of new operators has increased the competition in the telecoms sector with the end user subscriber being better for it.
As at November 2015, there are over 149 million active subscribers riding on the GSM technology in Nigeria.
- MTN subscribers: over 62 million.
- Globalcom: over 31 million subscribers,
- Airtel Nigeria: over 31 million and
- EMTS Limited (Etisalat): over 23 million subscribers.
Let us not forget the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) Operators. The Nigeria's revolution with CDMA operators was seen as a plus for the country, as the likes of Multi-links, VGC Communications, Zoom, Intercellular were the darling networks of many Nigerians in the early days of the revolution with cheaper call rates compared to the new entrants GSM operators whose SIM cards were sold for as high as N30,000 on entry. Other CDMA operators are Starcomms and Visafone.
From NCC report, as at September 2015, the existing CDMA Operators (Visafone Limited and Multilinks-Telkom) has over 2 million and 10 thousand Subscribers respectively.
It has not all been bed of roses for these Operators, as well as the citizen of the country, remembering the cost of a SIM card, Tariffs on calls, and the limited value added services in those days.
From NCC report, as at September 2015, the existing CDMA Operators (Visafone Limited and Multilinks-Telkom) has over 2 million and 10 thousand Subscribers respectively.
It has not all been bed of roses for these Operators, as well as the citizen of the country, remembering the cost of a SIM card, Tariffs on calls, and the limited value added services in those days.
However, things have changed and still changing. Fast forward till date, there has been massive development in the industry as the competition within these operators has brought about introduction of new products, purchase of SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card at almost free and more value added services, reduced call tariffs and better quality of service available to end users.
We definitely hope for better days to come, for instance when the cost of the Internet will be reduced to an affordable price that all can access and our telecoms industry can comfortably compete with the western nations in connectivity, Internet speed, voice quality and better user experience. However, as the market grow larger and the companies’ profits goes up, there are growing concerns about the quality of service they offer which have left subscribers/consumers unhappy and frustrated.
We definitely hope for better days to come, for instance when the cost of the Internet will be reduced to an affordable price that all can access and our telecoms industry can comfortably compete with the western nations in connectivity, Internet speed, voice quality and better user experience. However, as the market grow larger and the companies’ profits goes up, there are growing concerns about the quality of service they offer which have left subscribers/consumers unhappy and frustrated.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), an independent regulatory body for the Nigerian telecommunications industry created under Decree number 75 by the Federal Military Government of Nigeria on 24 November 1992 saddled with the responsibility of regulating the supply of telecommunications services and facilities, promoting competition, and setting performance standards for telephone services in Nigeria has been playing important role to see positive transformation in this sector of the economy.
In subsequent post, we will talk extensively on each operators and delve into their past, present and also what the future holds for them in Nigeria Market and also the role of NCC in Nigerian Telecommunication Industry.
We will also look into impact and contribution of the Service providers/Vendors in the telecommunication industry.
We will also look into impact and contribution of the Service providers/Vendors in the telecommunication industry.
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