Globacom @ 22: How Adenuga Sparked Telecom Revolution

By Chidiebere Nwobodo

Globacom, Nigeria’s foremost indigenous mobile telecom company, is celebrating twenty-two years of its operation.

From August, 2003 to August, 2025, has been a watershed successful the nation’s telecom industry. Glo’s twenty-two years of bullish tally successful the industry, ably led by the indefatigable telecom tycoon—aka ‘The Bull’, Dr. Mike Adenuga, Jr., GCON, has go the catalyst that revolutionised mobile telecommunications successful the country. Before advent of GSM, Nigeria had paltry 400,000 progressive telephone lines for past colonisation of implicit 150 cardinal people, which implied that little than 1 per cent of the state had entree to telephony services.

Defunct Nitel reigned ultimate arsenic the king of the jungle with adjacent monopolistic grip, riddled with gross inefficiency that became cesspit of corruption.

When GSM anchored connected our shoreline successful 2001 with the accomplishment of the 2 bequest mobile operators, Nigerians saw it arsenic an answered prayer. It was seen arsenic a glim airy of anticipation astatine the extremity of the passageway and wide departure from failures of hitherto government-owned Nitel, that gulped truthful overmuch nationalist funds without commensurate services arsenic overmuch arsenic output. The euphoria of the coming of GSM services soon began to dwindle and uncertainty started replacing anticipation arsenic a effect of precocious outgo of mobile lines and the N50/min billing system.

The bequest mobile operators insisted that it was intolerable to merchantability lines astatine cheaper and affordable prices. They besides ruled retired Per Second Billing (PSB), arsenic being practically intolerable owing to the outgo of obtaining licences and humongous funds needed for web expansion. The GSM services remained exclusively reserved for the elites and precocious mediate people due to the fact that of situation of affordability, until Globacom happened!

Two years down the road, successful August 2003, Dr. Mike Adenuga, Jr., took the gauntlet and floated Globacom Limited arsenic the archetypal indigenous mobile operator. The entranceway of Globacom broke the duopoly of the 2 bequest operators, untied the oligopolistic clasp connected the sector, and changed the crippled via instauration of cheaper mobile lines, and astir importantly, Per Second Billing (PSB).

What Nigerians thought was impossible, Globacom made it possible. GSM services became affordable to Nigerians irrespective of societal and economical class, respectively. The expansive entranceway of ‘The Bull’ (Adenuga) successful the crippled altered permutations, sparked fierce contention amongst mobile operators, drove monolithic concern successful telecom infrastructure and heightened the scramble for caller subscribers. Globacom genuinely changed the game.

In little than 2 decades, Nigeria’s progressive telephone lines skyrocketed from 400,000 successful 2001 to implicit 200m progressive lines. Internet entree roseate from little than 1 percent broadband penetration to implicit 55 percent, translating to 187 cardinal subscribers. The resultant effects of speeded telecom improvement orchestrated by Adenuga’s bullish tally with Globacom person cascaded to different captious sectors of the economy. After twenty-two years of redefining standards successful the industry, each I tin accidental is: convey you Globacom for coming to our rescue.

If not Globacom, Nigerians mightiness inactive beryllium paying exorbitant magnitude for mobile lines. If not for Globacom, Nigerians would person inactive beryllium nether the strangulating clasp of per a infinitesimal billing system. If not for Globacom, the 2 bequest operators would person maintained their hegemonic basal that Per Second Billing (PSB) was impossible—exactly what DSTV is doing present with wage TV arsenic a effect of the adjacent monopoly it enjoys till today. It was the imaginativeness of 1 antheral to physique the biggest and champion telecommunications web successful Africa that made each the difference.

Just adjacent your eyes successful 1 infinitesimal and ideate Nigeria’s telecom assemblage without Globacom. Imagine monolithic jobs created successful the system today. Imagine casual of doing concern made imaginable by precocious connectivity. Since its motorboat successful 2003, Globacom has pioneered the instauration of latest exertion successful the markets wherever it operates, frankincense ensuring that its subscribers payment from the advances made successful telecommunications and accusation exertion for personal, societal and concern prosperity.

For example, Globacom was the lone relation successful Africa to motorboat its operations connected the superior 2.5G web which enabled the convergence of voice, information and multimedia technologies. This robust level not ...