August 29th would forever remain an indelibly memorable day in the annals of Nigeria and the world, a day, a new telecoms conglomerate was birthed that would later dominate Nigeria’s telephony space, nay, Africa.
Glo like a new born baby was welcomed into the Nigerian telecommunications world exactly 22 years ago, and has grown to strategically deepen her presence through verifiable ethical approach and strong corporate governance.
How did Globacom make itself strategically popular and its footprint felt? As a company at the forefront of revolutionary changes in the telecommunication sector in Nigeria, it first crashed the cost of acquiring SIM cards in the country from about N25,000 to just about N200. Finally it dropped the long lasting and most effective telecoms bombshell as it launched operations on a per second billing platform, a feat others had described as impossible to achieve until another five years.
Nigeria’s teledensity improved today was made possible by the coming of GLO otherwise, not minding the inherent benefits of GSM, the Nigerian teledensity would have still remained at its lowest ebb, because with high cost of SIM, SMS, and voice at inception and with less purchasing economic power, Nigeria would still have been where NITEL left her.
The cutthroat and unrepentant insensitivity of those who came before her made GSM at its inception in Nigeria to be above the reach of the common man until Globacom landed. Alas, these so-called GSM operators in Nigeria are still hellbent to destroy the milestones which Nigeria has covered through Globacom. This great indigenous company has weathered the storm and has survived the odds and harsh operational business environment in the country and stood tall head and shoulder above her competitors.
With discontents arising from tariffs hike across all networks in Nigeria, customer satisfaction becomes uppermost in the business calculation of any right thinking telecoms organization in Nigeria.
Even though the hike could not be said to be enough for the network companies, considering the cost of things, however, customers whose yearning is calls and data satisfaction, are not after how you achieve best result on their behalf, theirs is continued quality service delivery while making calls, and rover and cruise around the world via data utilization.
An average subscriber in Nigeria does not want to know how you as a company achieve his voice call and data satisfaction experience, his ultimate goal is to have a wonderful and uninterrupted experience.
Hence, as a forward thinking telecommunications company, Globacom has consistently channeled her energy towards customer and subscriber satisfaction, by constantly embarking on facility and network upgrade so as to ensure that subscribers enjoy uninterrupted telephony services wherever they are whether in Nigeria or outside,
The company’s latest network improvement projects have been targeted at enhancing customer experience nationwide, which is a welcome development.
Indeed Glo’s unequalled service has been good and loving stories of many firsts, and the latest upgrade project is also the first among its contemporaries; as the first and most thriving indigenous telecoms company, Glo has remained a pacesetter and a primus inter pares in telecommunications industry in Nigeria.
According to officials, the mobile network operator (MNO) has been working around the clock to ensure that subscribers nationwide continue to get value for their money, especially with the recent tariff increment.
The network upgrade, according to the organisation, involves the deployment of fresh base stations to cover new locations and densification to improve coverage in areas with growing population with a view to guaranteeing excellent network quality for both voice and data services across the country.
Globacom is also relocating its fibre infrastructure in several locations where road constructions have had an impact on network quality across the federation.
The locations include Auchi-Okene, Benin-Ekpoma, Lafia-Akwanga, Minna-Abuja, and Funtua-Gusau.
“We decided, at a huge cost, to relocate the fibres, many of which had been vandalised in several places by uncoordinated road construction activities, in order to bring best-in-class services to customers,” the company said.
Globacom, a highly innovative and creative company is transforming creative concepts into tangible outcomes that improve efficiency, and effectiveness, or address unmet needs.
Before the latest outing, Globacom earlier embarked on network upgrade, the aim of which was to expand network capacity, give subscribers additional resources for better voice and data and improve customer satisfaction in congested locations, the nationwide technical enhancement efforts were to guarantee better customer experience on the network.
From the reason for the expansion, Globacom habitually keeps innovating for the purpose of Customer satisfaction, which for many was a masterstroke in Information Technology service delivery and this is one very fact subscribers can’t stop loving, patronizing and subscribing to this network, Glo, for being customer centric and always thinking customer and how to elevate their experience to the next level of satisfaction, this indeed is one quality lacking in other telecoms companies.
Of course, the company has promised to continue to be dedicated to creating a top-notch telecommunications infrastructure and providing customers with the most affordable rates for voice and data services in response to the recent hike in telecom tariffs. The company didn’t stop there, they made true their statement as it has successfully launched hundreds of new sites in Lagos, Ogun, Nasarawa, Rivers, Edo, Ogun, Delta, Cross River, Kaduna, Kano, Rivers, and Abuja in the past several months.
Knowing that the bulk of information technological users were domiciled in the universities and other tertiary institution campuses, the company has furthermore incorporated hundreds of LTE 2600 sites in the following institutions in Rivers, Edo, Abuja, Enugu, and Anambra States, as well as important markets in Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, and Kwara. This was done to make sure there was no network congestion and to improve high-speed data in the areas.
The company said also, “Globacom has expanded its data network capacity and made improvements to 1700 sites, primarily in Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Osun, Ekiti, Edo, Delta, Anambra, Enugu, Abia, Ebonyi, Bayelsa, Benue, Nasarawa, Kaduna, and Plateau states, in accordance with the Federal Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy’s broadband penetration initiative.”
Not quite long, it unveiled a deal with Samsung, world’s leading manufacturer of electronic devices, to avail unique benefits to Glo subscribers on the new Galaxy S25 phone series.
Globacom disclosed that the exciting deal gives Glo customers the opportunity to pre-order the fashionable Samsung Galaxy S25 smartphone and enjoy unique benefits including 18GB bonus data, just for her customers.
Similarly, the “GloAwoof Win SMS-to-Ai” uses artificial intelligence (AI) to give users rapid, precise information on any subject without requiring an internet connection. The “Ask AI by Glo” service is an SMS-based platform that provides users with access to a variety of informational resources, including news, sports scores, weather predictions, traffic updates, educational advice, and celebrity information. The third one, “GloAwoof Win Ai Fortune” is an educational service designed to empower users by teaching them how to leverage AI for generating income and improving business processes.
Over time Globacom sustained its leadership as the “Most Reliable Mobile 4G LTE Network” and “Most Innovative Mobile Network. This was even made manifest at the annual Beacon of ICT Awards because of its unique products and value added services such as Glo Berekete, Glo Café and friendly recharge and data plans”.
Additionally, Glo has started a large statewide initiative to upgrade its fiber and power infrastructure, upgrading thousands of kilometers of its infrastructure and installing thousands of new generators. This is aimed at creating more redundancy for better network availability.
As a business strategy, Glo’s innovation put the customers first, Customer-centricity is a business strategy that is based on putting the customer first and at the core of any business in order to provide a positive experience and build a long term relationship. With this Globacom has continued to soar like the eagle in the information technology space in Nigeria, the Sub-Sahara Africa and beyond.
As a corporate telecommunications entity, Globacom through its Value Added Services (VAS) has maintained a class above her competitors, of course Globacom is miles ahead of all of them in constantly innovating and putting the customer ahead, Globacom ensures and enhances implementations of her value added services not minding the added cost on its telecoms service delivery.
While Glo is among the networks with the cheapest data, its consistent release of promo bundles appears a welcome relief for many Nigerians burdened by dwindling income. Glo launched Gloshare for KWASU students, device cover for subscribers, among others. The latest in the bouquet of her VAS offering is the Promotional bonanzas including her Festival of Joy Promo. Since its inception, the Festival of Joy has uplifted many Nigerians from grass to grace and from grace to millionaire status. The number of generators, grinding machines, sewing machine, tricycles won by GLO customers are uncountable, the same with houses. Then Prado Jeeps are being won as if they are ordinary motorcycles. Many customers have won countless number of Globacom sponsored festival of joy bonanzas which have significantly changed their lives.
If there is something GLO realised in its business operations, it is the importance of her customers. The customer is the reason why they are in business, hence the enthronement of customer centrism in all it does; this is contrary to her competitors that are hell-bent in ripping the customers off through some subterranean practices and repatriation of their gains to their mother countries.
No Wonder, well-meaning Nigerians have continued to emphasize and clamour for the criticality of local content in Nigeria’s economic life especially, because no indigenous company would abandon her people in their moment of debilitating economic conundrum or hour of need.
In 2021, the giant telecommunications company experienced consistent growth from June to September 2021. A report on internet subscriber data by NCC showed an increase of 338,189 subscribers from June to July. In August, the number increased by 453,109, and in September, 234,979 subscribers were added. And the good news continues to soar till date.
The record is there for everyone to see that Globacom was the only operator in all of Africa to launch its operations on the superior 2.5G network that ensured the convergence of voice, data and multimedia technologies – an innovative platform that not only enhanced unparalleled voice clarity and low drop calls, but also enabled the offering of value-added services previously unavailable on the 2G technology – such as vehicle tracking, mobile internet, mobile banking, multimedia messaging service (MMS), voice SMS, Magic Plus and Text2email.
While that was going on with celebrations, Globacom launched another first, which firmly established the network as the acknowledged pioneer in the industry with the introduction of the 3G Plus technology, an event that marked the second time that Globacom would be at the forefront of birthing the latest transmission network in Nigeria. This new technology enabled a much faster transmission of data, voice, broadband internet and multimedia services over a range of frequencies, and it allowed customers to make video calls, video streaming and high-speed mobile internet access, amongst others, just from their 3G mobile handsets.
Globacom also became the first network in the country to test the 4G-LTE network, a revolutionary fourth-generation mobile technology, that enhances data transfer rates, delivers unmatched mobile broadband experience and the highest data speeds and reliability, thus putting Nigeria in the league of nations where long-term evolution (LTE) has continued to gain a grip.
No doubt its commitment to relentless network expansion, in terms of both quality and quantity, so as to give its customers top-notch service, is squarely in line with the company’s mission statement: “To be the largest, most successful entertainment, information and telecommunications solutions provider, in Nigeria and Africa”. And in the last 21 years, it has invested billions of dollars in extending its long reach to ever more nooks and crannies of Nigeria and beyond – most notably via the deployment of the most extensive fibre optic backbone across the country. The fibre optic cable was built to further enhance voice and data transmission for mobile and fixed telephone operations in the country, and is complemented by a microwave backbone that serves as backup. The cable helps ensure that calls on the network are crisp and clear, without the interference of breaks and drops.
Above the ground, below the ground and even undersea, Globacom’s game-changing innovations took another leap forward. In the area of broadband connectivity, the launch of Glo-1, the intercontinental submarine cable linking Nigeria with the outside world, not just a giant feat, costing over $250 million dollars, this project marked the first time a single company in Africa would implement such a massive undersea project. Glo-1 is an expansive trans-Atlantic cable designed to provide internet connectivity between Europe, America and the West African coast.
It is no longer news that this 9,800 km-long cable which has landing points in Lagos, Accra (Ghana), Dakar (Senegal), Nouakchott (Mauritania), Casablanca (Morocco), Vigo (Spain), Bude (England), among other points delivers a much faster and robust connectivity for voice, data and video. Of interest also is boosting the provision of services to telecom end-users, the facility is currently providing much-needed connectivity to critical sectors of the Nigerian and international economies such as oil and gas, manufacturing, banking, commerce, education and health, and a host of others.
