Three mobile operators suffer dip in subscriber base

Three telecom companies in the country have recorded a drop in their mobile subscriber numbers for the month of July, this year.

The industry regulator’s market statistics for the month under review named Airtel, Glo and Expresso as the telecos that suffered a dip in their subscriber base.

The National Communications Authority (NCA)  said Airtel’s mobile subscriber base fell from 3,118,935 in June to 3,117,543 in the month of July. This represents 11.44 per cent of the total market share.

The company has been running an expensive promotion in its bid to shore up its numbers while rewarding customers for their loyalty but this seems not to have paid off .

Company sources were, however, of the view that the fortunes of Airtel would change by the end of the promotion, which ends in a few weeks’ time.

GLO, which entered the market with a lot of enthusiasm, seems to be encountering some challenges in its quest to be among the top three players in the industry. For the month of July, the telco’s subscribership fell by 0.15 per cent to end the month with 1,633,379 as against the 1,660,890 it recorded in June.

The company’s total market share is now at six per cent.

Expresso also continues to lose its subscribers. Its quota of the market decreased by 0.01 per cent to 154,824 in July after recording 157,828 for June.

Its total market share averagely stands  at one per cent of the total market share.

The gainers

MTN, which had some challenges on its network in recent times, however, managed to raise its market share slightly, to maintain its position as the market leader in the highly competitive mobile telephony market.

Its subscriber base increased from 12,587,804 in June to 12,792,148 in July.

The company’s subscriber base therefore represents 46.95 per cent of the total market share.

From 5,748,538 in June, Vodafone’s subscriber base also increased to 5,792,061, representing 21.26 per cent of the total market share.

Tigo also experienced a marginal increase from 3,738,104 in June to 3,754,624 in the month under review.

The increase in its subscriber number places the company in the third position with 13.78 per cent of the total mobile market share.

Nationwide mobile penetration

The monthly mobile (Voice) penetration for July 2013, increased to 27,244,579 from 27, 012,099 country wide.

This means that mobile voice subscribership increased by 0.9 per cent during the period under review.

Source: Daily Graphic