Glo’s Struggles Deepen as Market Share Hits Record Low: What It Means for Nigeria’s Telecom Sector
A Former Telecom Pioneer in Decline
Once a trailblazer in Nigeria’s telecommunications industry, Globacom (widely known as Glo) is now grappling with its steepest decline yet. Recent data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) reveals that the company’s market share plummeted to just 11.9% in April 2025, marking an all-time low. Within a single month, Glo shed over 108,000 subscribers, falling from 20.7 million in March to 20.6 million.
This downturn underscores years of underlying issues that have gradually eroded the company’s standing. From persistent service quality problems to governance failings, Globacom’s current state reflects a broader crisis—one that threatens not only its survival but also the competitive balance of Nigeria’s telecom sector.
From Market Disruptor to Market Laggard
Globacom’s struggles are particularly stark when contrasted with its early success. The company earned nationwide acclaim for introducing per-second billing and free SIM cards, forcing market leaders to rethink pricing strategies. At its peak, Glo was a symbol of innovation and customer-centric disruption.
However, over the last decade, the brand has lost much of its momentum. Innovation has slowed, and its response to industry shifts has been largely reactive. In early 2024, Glo was still claiming 27% market share and over 60 million subscribers, but this figure was drastically revised following stricter NCC definitions of active lines—revealing a 69% drop in actual user numbers.
Unresolved Outages and Infrastructure Failures
A critical factor behind Glo’s downward spiral is its chronic network instability. From January to May 2025, the network suffered 45 major outages, second only to 9mobile’s 63 incidents, according to data from Uptime, a monitoring platform hosted on the NCC website.
Causes ranged from fibre cuts and power failures to vandalism and theft. For instance, an incident on May 21, 2025, involving equipment theft across five states, disrupted services for over eight hours. Another outage in Adamawa and Taraba due to a fibre cut dragged on for more than four days—a response time that pales in comparison to competitors like MTN, which typically resolves similar issues within hours.
These long downtimes have significantly eroded user confidence. In a market where connectivity is a daily necessity, prolonged outages equate not only to inconvenience but to real financial losses for individuals and businesses alike.
Customers Are Voting with Their Feet
Mounting dissatisfaction is evident across social media and porting data. Complaints about poor internet speeds, unstable connections, and inadequate customer support have become commonplace. These frustrations have fueled subscriber migration to more reliable networks—even those with higher tariffs.
The numbers tell the story: 1,233 subscribers left Glo in April 2025 alone, while MTN added nearly 3 million new users between January and April, expanding its base to 90.5 million. These trends point to a clear erosion of trust in Glo’s ability to deliver consistent service.
A Shrinking Player in a Consolidating Market
Globacom’s declining market share is more than a company-level issue—it carries sector-wide implications. With MTN and Airtel now controlling 86% of the market, the threat of a de facto duopoly looms large. A less competitive market could stifle innovation, raise prices, and limit service quality, especially for low-income and rural users who once relied on Glo as an affordable alternative.
Moreover, systemic infrastructure challenges—like rampant vandalism and Nigeria’s persistent power woes—affect all telecom operators. But Glo’s underinvestment in network resilience and slow incident response make it especially vulnerable to these shared risks.
Leadership Crisis and Corporate Governance Woes
At the core of Glo’s troubles lies a deep-seated governance crisis. Historically run under the tight control of its founder, Mike Adenuga, the company lacked clear separation between ownership and management. In late 2024, after regulatory pressure, Globacom appointed Ahmad Farroukh—a respected industry veteran—as CEO and began setting up a formal board. But Farroukh resigned within a month, reportedly due to frustrations with the company’s centralised decision-making and lack of operational autonomy.
This abrupt exit left the company without strong leadership at a time when strategic direction is urgently needed. A recent NCC audit further revealed lapses in SIM registration and data protection, adding regulatory scrutiny to an already fragile situation.
As Wole Adetuyi, CEO of Swift Telephone Network, put it:
“Globacom’s problem is mostly corporate governance, not because of a lack of subscribers… It makes people think the telecom business can’t be efficiently run by Nigerian executives, which isn’t true.”
Can Glo Find Its Way Back?
Globacom’s record-low market share could mark a pivotal turning point—either the beginning of a recovery or the prelude to further decline. For a turnaround to occur, the company must address its governance deficiencies, prioritize infrastructure investment, and revamp its customer experience. Only with these foundational shifts can it regain user trust and compete effectively in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
Otherwise, Glo’s struggles may not just signify the fall of a once-great brand—but a reshaping of Nigeria’s telecom industry in ways that limit choice, weaken competition, and compromise service quality for millions of Nigerians.