developer, NOIPolls, has revealed.
The criteria listed in the survey were quality of service and provision of special bonus offerings, for which those who responded believe MTN trumped other operators in one of Africa’s most competitive telecommunication markets.
With the emergence of its mobile phone services in Nigeria about a decade ago, the telecommunications industry has seen a vast number of competitive players. Figures obtained from the Nigerian Communications Commission(NCC) reveals that the teledensity of the country’s telecoms industry increased to 96.08 percent in September 2014, from the 90.78 percent in March.
Subscribers who picked MTN as the ideal service provider were within the ages 18-21 years, followed by adults within the ages 61 years and above (79 and 70 percent respectively).
Most patronised
The report shows that MTN is the most patronised provider as confirmed by the vast majority of respondents. Among this group, 91 percent are said to own an MTN sim card, 45 percent hold an Airtel line and Etisalat 33 percent. 28 percent of Nigerians use Globacom, the country’s biggest indigenous mobile operator, while only 1 percent use Visafone.
This validates data from the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) that says in terms of market share on the number of mobile subscribers to a single network, MTN, Africa’s leading cellular telecommunications company, holds top spot.
According to NOIPolls, “In 2014, MTN ranked highest for providing the best services in Nigeria, followed by Airtel and Etisalat (68 percent, 17 percent and 11 percent) respectively”.
Mobile Portability effect
In 2013, the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) scheme was launched. During this period, Nigerians had the freedom to change from one network to another and still retain their numbers.
Since its launch, MTN has remained the top loser, accounting for 49 percent of total port-outs – the number of people switching away from a service provider.
Despite suffering massively from the innovative scheme – the most port-outs by Nigerians – the same group of telecom users believe the South African-based mobile operator remains the network to beat.
