Globacom Sells SIM Card for N1
By Malachy Agbo
The fierce pricing competition among GSM companies took a new turn yesterday as Glo Mobile announced a price of N1 only for its Prepaid Classic lines. Although the SIM pack sells for N1,999, it comes with an airtime (credit) of N1,998, making the actual cost of the SIM card N1 only.
In what it called a "surprise Independence anniversary gift," Globacom, in a statement yesterday, said the One Naira Promotion was to "celebrate our National Day... It's the one you have been waiting for."
MTN had during the week announced a new price of N1,980 for its Pay as You Go brand, with a bonus of N500 airtime, while Vmobile has given every subscriber a bonus of 12 free text messages per month from October 2004 to October 2006.
The Federal Government has consistently urged that the deregulation of the telecommunication sector was going to lead to keen competition and eventual crashing of prices. The government has often cited the price drops as an indication of what would happen to fuel prices when the deregulation of the downstream sector is firmly rooted.
Glo Mobile also said yesterday that the new offer includes free Glo Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) and Glo Mobile Internet. MMS is the feature on the Glo network which gives subscribers the opportunity of sending picture, text and sound in a single message while Glo Mobile Internet gives Glo subscribers the privilege of browsing popular internet sites like yahoo, google and BBC on their mobile phone. Glo Mobile is the only telecommunication network in Nigeria with advanced services like MMS, Glo Mobile Internet and Glo Direct. The network also said that the package includes free SMS within the Glo network with every recharge (2 for N500 and 5 for others).
Since it launched its operation on August 29 last year, Glo Mobile has been causing a stir in the market. Apart from being Nigeria's only 2.5G network, Glo Mobile has recorded a series of firsts in the Nigerian telecommunication industry. It was the first network to introduce Pay by the Second, Text to Email, Friends and Family and TalkNow, a promotional package that brought the acquisition cost of a GSM line to N2,999 from as high as N32,000 charged by GSM operators at inception.
The One Naira Promotion is expected to last till the end of this month.
An official of Glo Mobile, who spoke with THISDAY on phone yesterday, said the network has so far built capacity for N1.5 million lines and would hit 5 million line capacity by the end of this year. The new promo, he said, is part of the network's plans to take over leadership of the GSM market in Africa.
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