Globacom — Companies — The Republic

Why it is on record

First network to launch per-second billing in Nigeria (2003), breaking the per-minute cartel pricing; built Glo-1 (2010) — the first international submarine cable wholly owned by a single African company.

Record held

Glo-1 ownership first; per-second billing first.

Founders

Mike Adenuga Jr. (b. 29 April 1953, Ibadan).

Headquarters

Mike Adenuga Towers, 1 Mike Adenuga Close, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Lineage / corporate history

Globacom Limited — won the second-round GSM licence in 2003 after the first-round Communications Investments Limited (CIL) collapsed; launched 29 August 2003 as the first indigenous national GSM operator.

Current leadership

Chairman: Mike Adenuga Jr. (sole proprietor/controlling shareholder).

Key dates

29 Aug 2003Launch as Nigeria's first indigenous GSM operator; introduces per-second billing on first call.
2010Lands the Glo-1 submarine cable — first wholly Africa-owned international cable serving the West African coast (Bude, UK to Lagos).
2018Second largest mobile operator in Nigeria by subscribers.

Deep dive

Globacom's 2003 entry broke two patterns in the Nigerian telecoms market. First, it was the first wholly indigenous national GSM operator, in a sector previously dominated by South African (MTN) and Indian (Econet, later Airtel) capital. Second, it forced the immediate introduction of per-second billing across the industry — at launch on 29 August 2003, Globacom announced per-second billing on the first call, compelling MTN and Vmobile (later Airtel) to abandon their per-minute billing within months. This single tariff intervention is credited with driving the second-wave expansion of mobile penetration in Nigeria, by sharply reducing the effective cost of low-value calls.

The 2010 landing of the Glo-1 submarine cable from Bude (UK) to Alpha Beach (Lagos) was the first wholly Africa-owned international submarine cable on the West African coast, and the first piece of intercontinental telecommunications infrastructure financed entirely by African capital. It substantially reduced wholesale international bandwidth costs into Nigeria.

Mike Adenuga remains the sole controlling shareholder; Globacom is the largest privately-held company in Nigeria that has never listed on the NGX.

Controversies & accountability

· Multiple NCC fines for poor quality of service through the 2010s.
· Industry disputes over interconnect debt to other operators.