NCC’s Competition Lens, Globacom and Nigeria’s Digital Economy
Hamza Kabiru
In Nigeria’s fast-evolving digital economy, reputation is shaped less by rhetoric than by consistency of action. As the telecommunications sector stands firmly recognised as a cornerstone of national development, the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) newly launched competition and market assessment marks a moment of reflection for the industry.
This exercise, designed to strengthen innovation, fairness and sustainable growth, inevitably draws attention to operators whose practices already embody the regulatory future being envisioned.
Chief among these is Globacom, whose confidence rests not on spectacle, but on substance.
The NCC’s assessment represents more than routine oversight. It is a deliberate recalibration of trust within a sector that contributes over nine per cent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product. The Commission has been clear in its philosophy: competition is the engine of innovation, affordability and consumer choice, but only when it is fair, investment-led and durable.
In this context, connectivity alone is insufficient; credibility has become the true currency of the digital economy.
Globacom’s role within this framework is revealing. Long before competition became a dominant regulatory theme, Glo had embedded its principles into its market conduct. Its pioneering introduction of per-second billing fundamentally reshaped Nigeria’s telecoms landscape, shifting power back to consumers and redefining affordability as a right rather than a privilege.
That intervention permanently altered usage patterns and expectations, leaving an enduring imprint on the industry.
However, affordability without robust infrastructure is ultimately hollow. What sets Globacom apart in today’s competition discourse is the depth and seriousness of its long-term investments. Beneath urban centres and along major transport corridors lies an extensive fibre-optic network—largely unseen yet indispensable—supporting millions of daily interactions. This is reinforced by a wide base station footprint and ongoing network upgrades, forming a system where market strength is anchored in capacity, resilience and foresight rather than short-term advantage.
Such an approach aligns squarely with the NCC’s stated position that market dominance is not inherently problematic when it arises from efficiency and innovation rather than exclusionary practices. In this light, Globacom’s scale functions not as a barrier, but as an enabler—expanding access, widening consumer choice and offering pricing structures attuned to Nigeria’s varied economic realities.
Consumers themselves provide the most compelling validation of this model. Across regions and professions, subscribers speak of reliability, value and trust. For students, affordable and predictable data enables learning and connection; for small business owners, network stability translates directly into productivity and income.
These everyday experiences give human texture to regulatory metrics and reinforce the NCC’s emphasis that competition must ultimately improve service quality and consumer welfare.
Within Globacom, senior executives articulate this alignment with deliberate clarity. They frame digital infrastructure as national infrastructure—something to be built patiently and governed responsibly.
Fair pricing and consistent service, they argue, are not marketing tactics but governance choices, central to sustaining trust in an increasingly scrutinised industry.
As PwC conducts its independent review on behalf of the NCC—examining pricing behaviour, market concentration, infrastructure access and consumer usage—Globacom’s journey offers a living reference point. It demonstrates how competition, when embraced rather than resisted, can amplify reputation instead of undermining it.
From a public relations and reputation management perspective, this coherence is Globacom’s defining advantage. Its narrative aligns with regulatory intent; its market behaviour reflects policy objectives; and its consumer experience reinforces both. In a sector often criticised for excessive promises, Glo’s restraint—allowing performance to speak louder than proclamation—has become its most persuasive statement.
As Nigeria’s digital economy accelerates under the NCC’s renewed competition framework, one conclusion stands firm: networks matter, but how they are built, priced and governed matters more. In balancing scale with sensitivity, Globacom continues to show that enduring reputation is not claimed—it is earned, patiently and consistently, signal by signal.
Kabiru, a public affairs analyst, wrote in from Kano.
