It’s finally here! Admittedly I’ve been on this topic for a while and it has taken a little longer than I anticipated to put-up this article. Today I’ll compare the data bundles and price of the data services provided by the county’s leading telecommunication providers, namely Globacom, MTN, Etisalat and the latest addition to the 3G spectrum Airtel Nigeria.
These data service account for a sizable portion of their turnover, this is why they invest so much money into branded USB modems, routers and Mifi dongles.
For the purpose of this article only the most popular and accessible data plans were taking into consideration. Plans including time caps or windows of access (night and weekend plans) were excluded. The minimum cut off mark per bundle is five hundred naira (N500). This is a strict comparison between price and data allowance to give you a real Idea of the cost of a Megabyte in Nigeria today.
Mtn Nigeria
Mtn Nigeria can boast of having the largest market share in Nigeria with about 42 million active subscribers as of the end of the Q4 2011. They offer a variety of data plans, their largest being eight thousand naira (N8,000) for 5 Gigabytes (5GB). Supported devices include basic handsets, Smartphones, USB modem sticks, routers and Mifi dongles. Here’s a brief summary of MTNs data offering.
In comparison to other mobile providers MTN plans are few and less confusing but some plans tend to overlap. For example it is possible to pay five hundred naira (N500) for 150 Megabytes and one thousand naira (N1000) for 100 Megabytes. Although the latter option has a 24hour limit it would be more logical because you would be entitled 300MB for a thousand naira.
Globacom Nigeria
Golbacom Nigeria has the second largest market share in Nigeria with an active use base of about 20 million subscribers at the end of Q4 2011. They have even a larger variety of data plans, their largest being eighteen thousand naira (N18,000) for twenty Gigabytes (20GB). Supporting similar devices as their rivals, we summarised their mobile offering below.
Even though at a glance they seem to have more options their plans are tailored for specific devices, as a result some plans seem redundant and you could get more megabytes for the same amount of money, or even pay more and get less megabytes for your money.
For example, depending on the device you wish to subscribe with, you may be advised to pay six thousand naira (N6000) for 3 Gigabytes when an option is available to pay five thousand naira (N5000) also for 3 Gigabytes.
Etisalat Nigeria
Labelled the fastest growing network of 2011 with a growth rate of 13.02% at the end of the Q4 2011 and an active user base of about 11 million subscribers, Etisalat Nigeria recently acquired its 3G licence allowing it to compete evenly with other mobile providers. With data plans similar to MTN in scope and size Etisalat largest data option is eight thousand naira (N8,000) for 6 Gigabytes. Supporting identical devices as their competition, here’s a summary of their data offerings.
Awfully similar to the offerings of MTN Nigeria, Etisalat seems to give you a little bit more in terms of megabytes for your naira. Having similar support for devices, plans never clash or overlap but as a result may be a little bit more expensive.
Airtel Nigeria
Over the years this mobile operator has been know by many names, and for a long time it was the underdog of the bunch. But as of the beginning of this year it joined the ranks of operators offering 3G connectivity to their subscribers. The future of Airtel seems to be looking up. With an active user base of 18 million subscribers it is the third largest in Nigeria. Its largest data option is fifteen thousand naira (N15000) for 10 Gigabytes.
With more plans than MTN and Etisalat but not as much as Globacom it would seem that Airtel found the middle ground, but on closer inspection they fail the same way Globacom did, with redundant and overlapping plans. It’s the only operator to offer you as low as 80 Megabytes for five hundred naira (N500) and only offers you a little over 10 Gigabytes for fifteen thousand naira (N15000).
To give a better insight into the price schemes of MTN, Globacom, Etisalat and Airtel we’ve took the liberty of placing all four networks by themselves for easier comparison.
For about a thousand naira all four providers offer very similar amounts of Megabytes. MTN Nigeria represented by the yellow line, seems to have a structured billing plan even though some of it plans seem to overlap. It is the least economic option if you require less than 2 Gigabytes monthly or more that 10 Gigabytes monthly. Globacom on the other hand is simply erratic, because their plans were specifically tailored to particular groups of devices, though not restricted to these devices. Also with its large number of data plans it offers, its’ clear their data offerings need some restructuring, then again in terms of Gigabytes it does offer the most economic options in the long run.
Etisalat’s pricing peaks between 2 and 4 GB but in the long run is the second most economic option for user who requires a large amount of data. Airtel seems to be playing it safe offering the most economic option for users who use 2 -10 Gigabytes monthly.
In truth all their current data plans coupled with the mobile operators being offered to the Nigerian public may suit some individuals currently, but if your need for data increase of reduces you may find yourself paying more for less. In this kind of situation what really determines which plans give true value to the consumer, are the policies these mobile operators have on data plans.
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