Mary Ekah
23 October 2008
Lagos — The natives of Ubakala, in Old Umuahia and other neighbouring communities in Abia State can now browse the internet at the touch of some buttons on their mobile phones and laptops, courtesy of Nigeria's indigenous telecommunications carrier. It was in realisation of this that the community was in festive mood last week when the firm's optic fibre cable backbone network was launched, writes Mary Ekah
Ubakala in Old Umuahia, Abia State, was turned into a festive arena last week when Globacom extended its expansive optic fibre cable (OFC) backbone network to that part of the country. With this facility, Umuahia and its environs can now easily hook on to the information superhighway at the touch of a few buttons on a handset, laptop or desktop with internet configuration.
The launch threw the entire community and neighbouring clans into jubilation, merry-making and praise-singing. The tempo was heightened with the endless expectation of the Governor of the state, Chief Theodore Orji, who later on sent the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mazi Donatus Okorie, to represent him. The SSG ceaselessly poured encomiums on the chairman of Globacom, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr., for his passionate commitment to the country's industrialisation and economic re-engineering.
Orji commended Globacom for its pace-setting initiatives in the telecommunications sector despite the initial challenges that confronted it on its emergence as the Second National Carrier five years ago. The governor's message on the occasion was quite inspiring for corporate institutions desirous of investment in the state.
"Abia State is disposed to investors and potential investors need a favourable environment for carrying out their genuine businesses. We render support through the provision of infrastructural requirements that companies need to function effectively and efficiently," Orji said in his goodwill message read at the event. He added that Glo is a unique brand with unrivalled national credentials in the country's corporate history.
It is on this rising profile of becoming not just the leading national telecommunications firm, but an international brand that the Senate Committee on Communications not long ago congratulated Globacom on its winning of a mobile cellular license in Ghana.
Chairman of the Committee, Senator Sylvester N. Anyanwu, while commending the telecoms giant, noted that the Ghana license, coming on the heels of the network's launch in Benin, is demonstrative of the growing international status of the second national carrier.
"This achievement, coming shortly after the launch of your network in The Republic of Benin, is a very clear indication of your giant strides in the telecommunications industry and your unstoppable rise to stardom in the African telecommunications sector," Anyanwu said in a congratulatory letter to the company's Chairman.
Anyanwu, who expressed joy over Globacom's pace-setting strides not just in the country, but also in the global arena, said he was convinced that Nigeria's 'preferred network' will sustain its leadership pedigree on the continent's telecommunications space. "These accomplishments, I hope, will spur you on to justify the confidence reposed in you by the Ghana National Communication Authority to intensify your efforts towards achieving a high quality of service delivery with a competitive tariff regime in the telecommunications sector," the lawmaker said.
The Ghana mobile cellular license is another milestone in the realisation of the network's vision to build Africa's biggest and best
network. The telecoms giant has intensified its facility expansion efforts in order to sustain its customer-centric focus. The continuous re-engineering takes into consideration the multifarious service desires of its increasing clientele. With the explosion in offerings, the company's customer care unit is regularly being staffed with more and more competent human capital and infrastructural deployment for complaints resolution and other needs.
The ultimate goal of the national telecommunication operator is to take service quintessence to the door-steps of customers with more than 40 Gloworld outlets already functional and new ones on the drawing board.
In the weeks ahead, the company will unveil a bouquet of unprecedented products and services that will see patrons of the network becoming more satisfied amid demonstration of undivided loyalty to this robust brand.
This rededication to service is indeed nurtured by the passion displayed to Glo network by the 19 million subscribers whose patronage has led to revolutionary initiatives by the five-year-old organisation that keeps setting sectoral heights in this part of the world.
Already, there are so many value-added services which Globacom's customers are enjoying: per second billing (PSB), 3G+,
Blackberry Solutions, massive coverage within and outside Nigerian shores, Pre-Paid Roaming, M-Banking, Multi-Media Messaging Service (MMS), Voice Short Messaging Service and caller tunes which keep endearing the network to an increasing number of patrons.
It is pertinent to point out here that for every subscriber of Globacom there is something to savour. This is an exclusive component of this network. A pan-African telecommunications firm with tentacles rapidly spreading trans-nationally, Globacom has in the past five years become the fastest-growing GSM outfit on the continent. This developmental stride can only be attributed to an expansive clientele base whose satisfaction with the network essentially translates to a swell in patronage.
There is no doubt that Globacom is largely accepted by a majority of Nigerians who, understandably, see it as their own institution, hence their identification with the brand. From current developments, it is easy to predict that in the years ahead, Glo will become the biggest and best telecom network in this part of the world. As they say, determination can take you to the top, but only service excellence will keep you there.
Recently, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) issued a clean bill of health to Globacom for surpassing the quality of service threshold. And for not meeting operational standards set by NCC, other GSM networks were sanctioned. Coming from the regulator, this is a veritable endorsement and a testimony to the quality character of Glo as the giant of Nigeria's telecom industry.
In terms of infrastructure, particularly technological acquisition, Globacom is ahead of competition and has received confirmatory awards to this effect. This explains the flourishing profile of the network in terms of expansion and patronage.
A fortnight ago, Globacom clinched three topmost awards at the Nigerian
Telecoms Awards: The Telecom Investor of the Year; The Best Telecom Company of the Year; and The Best Mobile Company of the Year. These awards suggest a profile of a company that is doing excellently in all departments of the sector it operates in. Before now, it had also received recognition and honours for its transformational activities in the industry. It is indisputable that the organisation has become a pace-setter.
With regard to rural telephony, Globacom is rendering service to all nooks and crannies with its outlets being launched in most parts of the country on a regular basis. Overall, commendations continue to pour in for this telecoms giant on account of its quintessential service offerings. And going by recent developments, there is a deliberate move towards a planned rededication to quality service delivery as it grows its network beyond the imagination of competition.
The phenomenal entry of Globacom into the Nigerian telecom space on August 29, 2003, was ushered in with an overflow of nationalistic emotions because that was the preface to indigenisation in that sector in the country's evolutionary profile. At the outset, not many people believed in the growth and sustainability of the initiative. Ever since its advent, it has carried on like a Trojan on an adventurous and record-breaking mission as if it was the first network to arrive in Nigeria! The passion with which Nigerians are emotionally attached to the Glo brand is so stupendously emotive that one would think it was a functional government-owned network on a take-over bid of existing competition.
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