Benin: Glo Mobile has abolished roaming charges between Benin and Nigeria

[daily independent] The introduction of the 'One Network' concept between Republic of Benin and Nigeria, by Glo Mobile has thrown new vistas for its existing and potential pre-paid customers.

Especially for those who regularly cross the borders of the two countries for business transactions, communications has been made easier and cheaper for them. Besides, the challenge of having to buy new SIM cards, or get a roaming plan, to be able to communicate when one crosses his country's borders to the other country has been eliminated by the deployment of the new network.

Communication by any of Globacom's subscribers is now seamless and trouble free. Put simply when you have a Glo line and you travel to Benin Republic you will use the same line and make calls as if you were in Nigeria.

International roaming charges do not apply in the One Network concept between the two countries; they are reduced. Nigerian subscribers who are in Benin Republic and make local calls there pay the same local rates they are charged in Nigeria and they pay in the Nigerian currency; so is the case for Benin Republic Glo subscribers.

If they were to call Nigeria they will pay the same international rate that a subscriber who is in Nigeria will pay if he were to call Benin Republic; roaming rates do not apply.

When you are in Benin Republic and you receive calls from someone in Nigeria, you receive the call free of charge, the same way you will receive an international call in Nigeria, from say United Kingdom and you are not charged.

But this for now is limited to voice calls alone; SMS and GPRS services are not yet enabled by the new introduction. The company is still working on them.

Before the introduction of the One Network, if you moved to Benin Republic you were required to get a roaming plan before you travel there and the roaming tariff structure applied.

The other difference for the roaming plan is that if you are roaming your Glo line you pay for received calls and special rates apply.

Globacom plans to introduce the concept to other West African countries where it deploying its networks.

Last week the company took some Nigerian journalists to experience and try out the new network, there GloBenin Acting Chief Executive Femi Ogunlesi and Chief Technical Officer, Konate Souleymane took them through the workings of the One Network.

Glo launched services in Benin Republic in June 2008 and according to Ogunlesi, there are now 750,000 subscribers with plans to double that subscriber base by end of the year.

Glo has covered 85 per cent of the country served by one mobile switching centre and 85 base stations. It already has four GloWorld outlets in Parakou, Cotonou, Porto Novo and Abomey regions of the country.

Mohamed Jameel, Group Chief Operating Officer of the company, had earlier explained that the One Network concept was to enable Glo subscribers to enjoy an unbroken connection across the two countries.

"We recognize the strong economic and cultural ties between Nigeria and Benin Republic . There is a high movement of people across these two countries. Our One Network service will therefore boost communication in the region as it makes it stress free and much cheaper," the GCOO noted.

He added that the service would be extended to cover any country where Glo launched its services. Globacom whose vision is to be the largest and most successful telecom network in Africa is preparing to roll out services in Ghana this year and has plans to extend the network to other African countries soon.

In Benin Republic where Glo commenced operation on June 5, 2008, the network has made a remarkable impact on the telecoms market. It became the choice network in that country within the first 100 days.

Glo Mobile Benin , Jameel noted, immediately endeared itself to Beninese as it became the first operator in that country to launch Per Second Billing (PSB) and several value added services including Magic Plus, Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), GPRS, Easyshare and Ring Back Tune. It was also the first network to roll out services across the country at the same time.

In Nigeria, Glo Mobile achieved a similar feat when, despite starting operations two years after other networks, it not only recorded 1 million subscribers in nine months but also became the fastest growing network in Africa in its first year of operation.

Glo's One Network Brings Ease of Use, Low Rates Across Two Borders