494,000 subscribers dump Glo, 9mobile. Enough sign to say Foreign players are bulls?

The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has, in its November data updates, revealed that 493,556 subscribers on 9mobile and Glo networks have changed service providers, opting either for foreign-owned MTN or Airtel.

The report, which is available on the NCC website, also revealed that MTN leads as top gainer of most switching subscribers, a development contrary to previous months where Airtel was seen converting more than the South African firm, MTN.

While this may mean local players are losing market share in the telecommunications space, the resultant effect is that Nigeria, despite government’s supposed investment to grow the economy, still imports network service to operate.

More disastrous, if this trend continues, foreigners and foreign companies would gain more hold on the economy and when they withdraw for any reason might plunged Nigeria into severe economic instability.

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While Nigeria must be open to foreign portfolios and investments in a bid to grow its economy, we must be wary of eventualities that may strike at the slightest agitation.

The situation is worse for Glo, which despite having been a player in the industry for long, lost over 500,000 internet subscribers in two months.

According to the NCC, the Mike Adenuga company lost about 370,845 internet subscribers in October, hence, adding to the already 155,118 loss recorded in September.

For critics, the current market situation can be interpreted to mean two things -either foreign players should be taken as bulls or that local players are not bracing up and investing rightly to be competitive enough.

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