Glo Overtakes Competition in Data Subscribers’ Growth

GLO, indigenous mobile telecommunication company, has taken others by surprise, gaining 8.302 million data subscribers when it grew from 28.934 million in December 2019 to 37.236 million by the end of May 2020.

According to statistics released by the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) recently for the period ending May 2020, MTN gained only 4.75 million data subscribers, while Airtel, which used to be the second-highest in subscribers growth after MTN, recorded 2.795 million, while 9mobile lost 812,827 subscribers within the same period.

Recall that NCC’s data for the period ending December 2019, revealed that Nigeria’s largest mobile telecommunication company, MTN, gained 8.18 million data subscribers, and Airtel suc

cessfully edged out Glo in terms of data subscriber numbers, as the telco added 4.06 million subscribers over the indigenous brand.

The competition took a new twist so far in 2020 (January – May 2020).

Though MTN and Airtel, the two Nigeria’s largest data sellers, have 58.863 million data subscribers and 37.317 million subscribers respectively, Glo, which is the third-largest came from behind to outrun the ‘big players’, as more subscribers opted for the service of the indigenous ISP during the economic lockdown imposed by the Coronavirus pandemic.

While MTN and Airtel managed to attract only 689,593 and 41,791 subscribers in March and April (Peak of the lockdown) respectively, Glo smiled to the bank, as it attracted new 2.072 million data subscribers within the same period.

In terms of market share, MTN maintains the lead, as it controls 39.61 per cent of the market (May 2020), followed by Glo with 27.12 per cent, then Airtel with 26.83 per cent, and 9mobile with 6.37 percent within the same period.