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Nigerians rush for new cellphones

Nigerians rush for new cellphones

LAGOS – Hundreds of desperate phone-hungry Nigerians besieged the offices of upstart mobile operator Globacom on Tuesday for new start-up packs amid a nationwide shortage.

Last year the market in Nigeria grew so fast that market leaders MTN, a unit of Johannesburg-based MTN Group and Econet Wireless Nigeria, were forced to close their doors against new customers, pushing up the price for start-up packs to around US$150 each. Nigeria’s third mobile phone network has cut its prices and adopted flexible payment terms in a campaign to expand its subscriber base.Local firm Globacom is aiming to raise its subscriber base from 600 000 to four million by 2005, company officials said.Leading network MTN and Econet dominate the lucrative Nigerian telecoms market with a combined subscriber base of just under three million.Last December, Nigeria’s other mobile network M-Tel, a subsidiary of state-run Nitel said it had expanded its capacity from around 150 000 subscribers to over 1,3 million.- Nampa-ReutersNigeria’s third mobile phone network has cut its prices and adopted flexible payment terms in a campaign to expand its subscriber base.Local firm Globacom is aiming to raise its subscriber base from 600 000 to four million by 2005, company officials said.Leading network MTN and Econet dominate the lucrative Nigerian telecoms market with a combined subscriber base of just under three million.Last December, Nigeria’s other mobile network M-Tel, a subsidiary of state-run Nitel said it had expanded its capacity from around 150 000 subscribers to over 1,3 million.- Nampa-Reuters

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