Airtel cleans customer base

Accra, Aug. 13, GNA - Airtel - Ghana's best Data and Internet Service Provider, has embarked on a major clean-up of its customer base to meet regulatory requirements by the National Communications Authority (NCA).

The exercise, which began in April is expected to run till September 30, the NCA stipulated deadline for compliance and involves updating customer details and de-activating non-compliant, inactive or dormant accounts.

A statement issued in Accra by Mr Richard Ahiagble, the Head of Corporate Communications, and copied to the Ghana News Agency said in line with this objective, Airtel Ghana had over the last few months commenced an extensive 'Know Your Customer' (KYC) process to regularise customers' details and to drive compliance.

Explaining the rationale behind the action, Airtel's Director of Legal and Corporate Affairs, Mrs Hannah Agbozo said: 'The exercise is in line with regulatory requirements and our focus is to ensure that customers' details are complete and up to date.

'We have, since April, been engaging customers using various channels to ensure that they take the appropriate actions to bring their accounts up to date.

'Customers can visit our shops anytime between now and end of August to regularise their details. Alternatively, they can also send a blank text message to short code 400 to check their registration details.

To ensure full compliance, we are deactivating accounts that do not fully comply with KYC requirements.

'Over the last four months, we have taken out a number of non-regularised accounts and we will continue to do so over the period of the exercise to ensure we have a fully compliant customer base,' she said.

In April, Airtel shed more than 70,000 customers as a result of the on-going exercise and it is expected that this would continue to ensure a compliant subscriber database by the cut - off date.

'We expect this may result in a dip in our customer base but our focus is on compliance, quality acquisitions and managing a strong base of active customers'.

The National Communications Authority report released in July, covering the period of May, pegs Airtel's voice Customer Market Share (CMS) at 13.13 per cent and data CMS at 16.36 per cent.

Across the industry, voice customer numbers have slowed with penetration rate pegged at 131.63 per cent.

With voice subscription nearing saturation, according to industry experts, growth in Ghana's competitive telecommunication industry would be driven largely by mobile data.

Over the last one year, Airtel has witnessed significant growth in its data customer numbers from a base of 2.4 million in April 2015 to Circa 3.07 million customers in May 2016.

GNA