17 years and counting: 10 quick facts about Glo as it celebrates its 17th anniversary
Nigeria’s telecommunications sector is one of the success stories of the Nigerian economy. It remains the fastest growing country and contributes the most to economic growth.
For instance, in the Q2 2020 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report recently released by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Telecoms real GDP grew by 18.1% compared to 9.7% in Q1 2020 and 11.3% in Q2 2019, in spite of the damaging economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The success story of the Telecoms sector is, however, not complete without making reference to the frontline role played by Globacom Limited, Nigeria’s indigenous telecommunication company.
Globacom Limited, popularly known as Glo, is the product of the entrepreneurial brilliance of one of Nigeria’s top billionaire businessman, Mike Adenuga, who diversified from the oil sector into Nigeria’s telecommunication sector in 1999 and secured a conditional GSM licence in the same year.
The telecommunications company was officially founded in 2003.
As Globacom Limited celebrates 17 years of unlimited connection on Saturday, August 29, This are 10 important facts about the trailblazing telecom company with one of the highest subscriber base on the African continent.
1. Globacom was established on 29 August 2003.
2. Within its first year of operation, Glo became the fastest growing GSM operator in Africa, achieving a record 1 million subscribers in Nigeria in nine months
3. The company spread quickly and beat others already on the scene by kicking off per-second billing in Nigeria even though other operators claimed it was not possible in many years.
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4. It also demystified SIM card acquisition, which was earlier a big deal, by distributing them free to customers
5. According to Forbes, the company is now the second-largest operator in Nigeria, with 50 million subscribers.
6. Globacom has also made history as the first company to build a high-capacity submarine fibre-optic cable, popularly known as Glo-1, the first successful submarine cable from the United Kingdom to Nigeria; with the attendant high increases in internet speeds and download rates with resultant significant improvements in online technologies.
7. Brand Africa, in its recently released brand ranking for the 100 most admired brands in Africa, ranked Globacom as one of the most admired Nigerian brands.
8. The company is also a trailblazer in launching a slew of futuristic products and services such as being the first to offer 2.5 G when others were on 2G, MMS, international SMS connectivity to over 804 networks in 174 countries, BlackBerry solutions, international prepaid roaming, voice SMS, personal ringback tunes, and Magicplus––a comprehensive bouquet of SIM-based information services.
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9. In line with its pan-African vision, Glo has also extended operations to the Benin Republic and Ghana with footprint in other countries across the world.
10. In 2019, Globacom received global garlands as it was proclaimed the Brand of the Year 2019-2020 Telecommunications-Mobile at the 2019 World Branding Awards held at the Kensington Palace, London.
The annual World Branding Awards is the main award program of the world branding forum, a registered global non-profit organization created to promote the standards, skills, and education of the branding community for the benefit of the industry and consumers.
