The cliché “To whom much is given, much is expected” seem to be true for telecommunications giant, MTN, especially as it pertains to its operations in Nigeria.
MTN launched its Global System of Mobile Communications (GSM), service on August 8, 2001 connecting 100,000 lines (24 hours after another licensee, Econet Wireless began) and from the get go; it benefited a lot from being a pioneer.
Not only was a sim card sold for as much as N30,000 (today it is virtually free), MTN got loads of tax reliefs and concessions, because the then Obasanjo government wanted to make sure that its plan to democratize telephony had no hitches.
That early lead helped MTN grow in leaps and bounds, and today, it is the largest network in terms of subscriber base in Nigeria. In addition, MTN Nigeria contributes a huge chunk of the profit declared yearly by the MTN Group.
