Airtel, Ghana’s fastest growing telecommunications network has leapfrogged to number 3 position in data as captured in the Voice and Data subscription trend report released by the National Communications Authority (NCA) in December last year for the month of August 2015.

The report revealed Airtel’s remarkable growth in data – moving from a subscriber base of under 2.54 million in July to 2.63 million in August representing 3.57% growth. In absolute terms, the company added over 90,000 data customers over the one month period – the highest in the industry.

Speaking to this impressive growth, the Director in Charge of Airtel’s Data Business, Jean Claude Domilongo Bope said, “recording such tremendous growth in data customers ahead of the market is remarkable. In August alone, our growth in percentage terms exceeded 2.5 times the industry average. Airtel is truly leading the data space in Ghana.

As a business, Airtel has clearly differentiated itself in data and digital innovation – providing superior offerings to meet the current and future needs of our customers. Ghanaians continue to respond to our leadership in this space by making us their preferred network of choice – not only for data but also for enterprise solutions and voice”.

He continued, “our growth as a business and specifically in data subscription has been consistent over the last few years. If you take for instance our total customer base as reported by the NCA in August, Airtel recorded over 4.2 million customers for voice. Out of which we have over 2.6 million data subscribers. That is more than 61% of our total subscriber base who are also data customers. That is truly remarkable and industry leading”.

According to the report, Airtel’s voice customer base increased from 4,176,115 at the end of July 2015 to 4,279,835 representing an increase of 2.48% over July. In percentage terms, the recorded growth again exceeded industry average of 0.6%.

According to Jean Claude, Airtel’s remarkable performance can be attributed to a number of factors – primarily investment in infrastructure and a focus on innovation. He said, “last year, we invested to expand capacity on our network in key locations across the country, offering customers up to 42mps on compatible devices and enriching their experience on Airtel."

"We have consistently led in data and digital innovation in a way that differentiates us from the competition. For example we partnered with Facebook to launch Free Basics last year giving customers access to the entire suite of zero rated services and sites including free Facebook, Jobberman, Tonaton, health, weather and news sites. Making these services free for our customers ensures that they are digitally included," Mr. Jean Claude added.

Airtel Ghana also launched its revolutionary “bundles on Facebook” last year, which enables customers to purchase data bundles just when they need it. Offering unrivalled convenience to customers.

The telecom giant also launched the Airtel Care App “which enables customers to connect with the Customer Experience team or buy airtime and bundles anytime anywhere using Airtel Money.

"In addition to these, we are also constantly engaging with our customers, gathering insights to shape our offerings. We have built a robust distribution network to ensure we are close to the customer. When you lump all these together, it is little wonder that we remain the fastest growing telecom network in Ghana,” Jean Claude concluded.