Why Airtel introduce lowest tariff Offer in Nigeria –CEO
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Nigeria, Rajan Swaroop, has shed more light why the mobile operator introduced the lowest GSM tariff in the country despite the huge cost of doing business and competition in the nation's telecommunication industry.
Swaroop explained that the recently introduced Airtel 2Good tariff offer is designed to give Nigerians and other residents of the country greater freedom to communicate with friends, family members and business partners on the phone.
The company which launched a new brand in November introduced the Airtel 2Good tariff offer which makes it possible for its customers to make calls to anywhere in Nigeria and the United States of America for as low as 20kobo per second after the paying 60kobo per second for the first minute.
Speaking to the media during a visit to Enugu State, the Managing Director said “We at Airtel want Nigerians to feel free and comfortable when they talk on the phone without any worry that speaking on the phone for a long time will drain their wallets. The new tariff makes it possible for our customers to make calls for as low as 20kobo per second”.
This is a clear indication that we are determined to provide people in Nigeria a truly affordable tariff and an array of innovative and appropriate products and services while at the same time offering improved network service quality.
He said that Airtel Nigeria hopes to draw from the parent company's rich record of serving customers and communities with largely lower income in India and other countries where it operates.
“We have about 150 million customers in India and over 200 million customers across our operations in Africa and Asia. Many of these customers live in communities with very low income. In several ways, many of these communities are similar to numerous areas in Nigeria. The same way that we have given the residents of these communicates the freedom to communicate so we will offer Nigerians the opportunity to speak freely on their phones. We are going to transfer our expertise and experience of serving these communities to Nigeria”, he said.
The Chief Executive Officer of Airtel also offered assurance that the mobile operator will create additional jobs opportunities for Nigerians, stressing that hundreds of jobs will be created directly and indirectly in the coming months especially with the expansion of Airtel Call Centres and deepen its distribution network in the cities and rural communities.
Additionally, he said plan was underway to increase the number of staff in the Airtel Call Centre from 600 call agents to 1000 within the next six months thus opening more job opportunities for Nigerians. He explained that apart from creating jobs for the teaming school leavers in the country, the move will further lead to improved customers service from Airtel.
Also, Swaroop said the company is equally determined to touch lives through its corporate social responsibility programme, stressing that the mobile operator is firmly focused on providing access to quality education to Nigerian child.
He revealed that Airtel will construct schools across the country, equip the schools with furniture, provide uniform for the students and upscale the skills of the teachers, a model which currently exists in India and has resulted in the adoption of over 250 schools throughout the country.
The Chief Executive Officer of Airtel was accompanied on the courtesy visit by the Director of Regulatory and Government Affairs, Osondu Nwokoro; South Regional Operation Director, Godfrey Efeurhobo and Public Relations Manager, Emmanuel Otokhine