#Article (Archive)

Mobile Telecommunication - A Case of Competing Businesses

Jun 16, 2008, 5:16 AM

The consistent growth of The Gambia's mobile telecommunications industry within the past three years brought with it intense competition, requiring mobile GSM companies in the country to devise workable strategies backed by customer-focused policies that translate into flexible innovative products and services to ensure the attainment of customer loyalty.

There is no doubt that investing in a developing country should be seen as a way of investing in local people and the development of their expertise but in a situation where industries are devoid of competition, consumers would not enjoy any good products and services from the various providers. So in a situation where one business predominates, the consumers will always suffer at the hand of that sole business concern.

To be precise, our discussion concerns the perceived competition between Africell, Gamcel and Comium. Whilst Gamcel is a company partly owned by the state, Africell and Comium are privately owned companies. All three companies seek to provide cellular phone services to the people of The Gambia.

In what has been viewed as an aggressive marketing strategy, Africell provided good services to their customers in various forms few among which are the giving out of brand new cars, a dream house and the much talked about D10m promotion currently going on.

Gamcel apparently responded by embarking on their own campaigns, latest among which is the giving out of Hajj tickets, brand new cars and scholarship packages to students.

It is against this backdrop that the new comers, Comium, emerged to take up the challenge. The Company has also embarked on its own campaign strategy by giving out D1m, weekly cash prices and brand new cars.

Actually, these strategies have elicited animated and enthusiastic responses from the companies' clientele. We therefore acclaim all the three companies and urge them to keep up both the spirit and momentum as the success of any business could be linked to the products and services it renders to its customers.

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