Globacom

Globacom Ltd.
Private
Industry Telecommunications
Founded 2003
Headquarters Lagos, Nigeria
Key people
 Dr. Mike Adenuga Jnr.. (Chairman)
Paddy Adenuga (Group Executive Director)
Mohamed Jameel (Group Chief Operating Officer)
Bella Disu (Group Executive Director)
Products Mobile Networks, Telecom services, etc
Number of employees
 2,545 (June 2009)
Slogan Rule Your World
Website www.gloworld.com

Globacom Limited (or GLO) is a Nigerian multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. GLO is a privately owned telecommunications carrier that started operations on 29 August 2003. It currently operates in four countries in West Africa, namely Nigeria, Republic of Benin, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire.[1] As of June 2009, the company has employed more than 2,500 people worldwide.

Overview

GLO has an estimate of over 25 million subscribers (June 2009) and it is a 100 percent Nigerian owned company.[2]

GLO built an $800 million high-capacity fibre-optic cable known as Glo-1, a submarine cable from the United Kingdom to Nigeria.[3]

Ownership

GLO is privately owned by the Mike Adenuga Group which also consists of Equatorial Trust Bank (ETB)now Sterling bank, Conoil PLC, a petroleum marketing company, and Conoil Producing, a crude exploration company.[4]

Strategic Business Units

Glo Mobile

Glo Mobile, a subsidiary of GLO, is GLO’s Mobile Network Unit. In the first year of operation, it had one million subscribers in over 87 towns in Nigeria and over 120 billion Naira in revenues.[5] Glo Mobile has now spread its reach to other parts of Africa, namely the Republic of Benin[6] and Ghana.[7]

Glo Gateway

Glo Gateway, a subsidiary of GLO, is GLO’s International Wholesale Voice and Data Exchange Trading Business Unit. Due to an expansion program which took place in 2008, Glo Gateway now covers 140 countries under its roaming services, and it is currently connected to 235 networks.[8] 2008 also saw growth in Glo’s data roaming for mobile phones, laptops and BlackBerry handsets, which has now spread to 72 networks in 29 countries.[9] This now gives GLO the largest roaming coverage for voice and data in Africa.[10] Glo Gateway recently acquired a license in Côte d'Ivoire.

Broad Access

As a part of GLO’s service offering, Glo Broad Access will be vastly improved by the laying of the fibre optic cable for the metro ring, which is progressing steadily. The Glo Broad Access was launched on the 24th of November 2009. Glo Broad Access offers landline telephones, broadband internet and video, all on a single digital wire line.

Glo 1 Submarine Cable

Glo-1 is the first successful submarine cable from the United Kingdom to Nigeria, and GLO is the first individual African company to embark on such a project.[11]

Glo-1 has the potential to provide high speed internet services, faster, more reliable and cheaper telecom services for the public.[12] Glo-1 will potentially facilitate foreign investment and employment opportunities especially to Africans.

The 9,800 km long cable originates from Bude in the UK and it is laid from this origin to Alpha Beach in Lagos, where it will have its Landing Station.[13] Glo-1 will also improve teleconferencing, distance learning, disaster recovery and telemedicine among several other benefits for Nigerians and the people of West Africa.[14]

By country

In August 2003, Glo Mobile was launched in Nigeria. Glo Mobile introduced lower tariffs, pay per second billing and alongside other value added services. Although Glo Mobile was the fourth GSM operator to launch in Nigeria, within seven years of the company's operation, its subscriber base has grown to over 25 million.[15]

In June 2008, Glo Mobile was launched in the Republic of Benin. Glo Mobile showed unprecedented growth through the sale of 600,000 SIM cards in the first ten days of operation.[16] Glo Mobile offered Per Second Billing, which charges subscribers for the exact airtime used. They also offered other value added services such as MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service), Glo Magic Plus news and information, vehicle tracking, musical ring-back tones and mobile banking.

In May 2008, GLO acquired an operating license through its Glo Mobile division in Ghana and plans to capture 30% of the current 11 million subscriber market within 18 months of launch.[17] They plan on achieving this goal by launching with bundled voice and Internet services for Ghana and through specifically targeting ‘un-serviced’ areas outside Ghana’s two major cities, Accra and Kumasi. Glo Mobile was set to launch in Ghana the first quarter of 2010.[18] This has however been postponed to the third quarter of 2011, and again to 2012. In january 2012, Glo Ghana opened the "Reserve your number" campaign, but still without opening the network. On April 8, 2011 GLO launched the sub-marine optical fiber GLO1, one part of its maiden operation in Ghana, to usher in another major player in the Ghana telecommunication industry.

In October 2009, GLO acquired submarine cable landing rights and International Gateway Services in Côte d'Ivoire.

History

In 2005, Glo Mobile introduced the Glo Fleet Manager which is the most comprehensive Vehicle Tracking Solution offered. Glo Fleet Manager helps transporters/fleet operators manage their fleet. They also introduced the Glo Mobile internet service which provides subscribers with high speed access to all popular internet sites which have been customized for mobile phone browsing.

In 2006, Glo Mobile introduced BlackBerry. GLO started the sponsorship of the Confederation of African Football African Player of the Year Award. The company also started the sponsorship of Glo Lagos International Half Marathon.

In 2009, Glo Mobile launched Blackberry prepaid services which gives subscribers options to pay daily, weekly or monthly for the service. Blackberry prepaid service gives subscribers free yahoo mail access and free blackberry messenger. The company also launched 3G High Speed Internet services through the sale of its 3G modem. Glo Mobile 3G network is available in Lagos, Abuja, Benin and Port Harcourt.

Sponsorships

GLO sponsors sports events as a way to give back to communities within the countries they operate.

Nigerian supporters in GLO-Shirts at 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup

In Nigeria, GLO sponsored until 2009 the Nigerian Premier League, Nigerian National Football Teams, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF),[19] Glo Lagos International Half Marathon,[20] Glo People Police Marathon,[21] Eyo Festival, Ojude Oba Festival,[22] Eleghe Festival[23] and the Confederation of African Football African Player of the Year Award.[24]

In the Republic of Benin, GLO sponsors the FITHEB and CAF African Player of the Year Award.[25] .

In Ghana, GLO sponsors the Glo Ghana Premier League, the Ghana National Football Teams[26] and the CAF African Player of the Year Award.

In November 2009, GLO became an official sponsor of football club Manchester United. The sponsorship also includes young players from Benin, Ghana and Nigeria going to Manchester to train with the club.[27]

References

External links