Vmobile Aims for 2m Subscribers By October
Stories by Tunmise Adekunle
Vmobile Nigeria on Tuesday, September 14, 2004 launched a new commercial to signal its arrival on television and consolidate on the gains of the on going repositioning of the company.
Also in the objective to increase network capacity to over 2 million subscribers by the end of October and the quest to improve the reliability and quality of the network for customers' satisfaction, the network is currently undertaking various upgrade activities. To this end, a re-engineering of the transmission and satellite network in order to improve the overall reliability and quality available to customers on the network is on.
According to statement from the network, the television commercial, which debuted simultaneously on local television and on the popular satellite television network, DSTV, is part of Vmobile's renewed marketing communications initiatives.
The commercial is part of an integrated 'icon campaign' launched by Vmobile six weeks ago to establish the thrust of the company's vision.
It combines the characteristics of the Eagle; the payoff line-It's all about you, and the colours, red and white. The campaign draws from the laudable attributes of the king of birds, the Eagle, to signify the company's focus on the following core principles: Vision, Passion, Commitment, and Care.
Industry observers believe that the campaign, in essence, exemplifies the core values of the company as a consumer-focused organisation.
The Eagle hovers across your television screen across Nigeria, it not only conjures the tangible image of the true reflection of a national icon, the Eagle, proudly nestled on the national Coat of Arms, but it promptly kindles fond feelings for a cellular network which does not thrive on promises but real action.
Speaking with brand writers last week, Vmobile's chief marketing officer, Lawrie Golding said that the network�s passion for customer satisfaction is reflected in the its marketing philosophy and service delivery strategies. "It takes a lot of pride in its Nigerianness without losing sight of its determination to become a world class company hence the pay-off line: Nigerian company, world class spirit'. With Vmobile, the customer certainly comes first�, he postulated.
Historically, the company has amply demonstrated an undoubtedly customer-friendly attitude to doing GSM business. From the outset, Vmobile was the first (and still the only) Nigerian telecom operator to offer a toll-free Customer Care call centre line 111, which is available to every subscriber on the network; free SMS retrieval; 24-hour emergency medical service (V199); free account balance check and subscription-free conference call service.
Just last week, Vmobile touched a sensitive nerve aspect of pre-paid mobile telephony in Nigeria by increasing the airtime validity on every denomination of recharge card it offers.
The company says it has successfully upgraded the switches in Abuja, Port Harcourt and Abuja.
Statement signed by Emeka Opara further says that due to the high traffic demands on the Lagos switches, two new MSC and new BSCs are being integrated into the Lagos network to provide the required capacity to meet current and future demands.
Aside these, 100 new base stations will go live by the end of this month to improve coverage as well as capacity in existing coverage areas, while extending to new areas.
"In addition, new Value Added Services equipment are being installed to improve Voice mail Service and Short Message Service for the customers . These changes to the network elements are implemented during the off-peak hours, but unfortunately some of these activities are capable of affecting the availability and quality of some services for short periods during the Peak hours. We, therefore, urge our valued customers to bear with us for the temporary quality challenges which are normally experienced during such major network upgrades", the statement concluded.
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