Telcos challenge each other over subscriber figures

by Olusegun Abolaji Ogundeji

November 4, 2008 —

Two GSM (Global Service for Mobile Communications) operators in Sierra Leone are countering each others' subscriber-base claims, each claiming that the other's statistics are misleading.

Late last month, Paul Hyde, CEO of Comium Sierra Leone, said his company's subscriber base had hit 646,000, thus placing it as the leading GSM operator in the country.

Earlier in August, Africell announced that it had exhausted its initial code numbers and had to apply for additional national dialing codes after its subscriber base increased to more than 500,000.

"While figures are important, the numbers quoted by Comium's competitors in recent days are misleading for the market, as they have neither an independent nor clear definition of terms," Hyde said.

Africell, however, retaliated with claims that the information provided by Comium is untrue.

"If their gross subscriber base is over 600,000, then what is the number of their active subscriber base in accordance with ITU [International Telecommunication Union] definition of active subscribers -- that is making or receiving a call within 90 days? We would be glad to know such figures. In my estimation, it would not be more than 300,000," said Joe Amara Bangali Jr., Africell's chief commercial officer, in an interview Monday.

Africell, therefore, challenges any contender for the number-one position based on verifiable facts and figures, Bangali Jr. added.

Both Comium and Africell commercially launched their operations in Sierra Leone in 2005.

IDG News Service