A Movicel lost 1,2 million mobile network subscribers between the end of 2019 and the third quarter of 2021, a 45% drop compared to the almost 2,7 million customers it had three years ago, according to newspaper calculations Expansion based on data from the National Institute of Communications (INACOM).
In a market for two, the giant Unitel absorbs almost all of these customers. The operator whose majority capital belongs to Sonangol has consolidated its position as market leader over the years. At the end of the third quarter, 9 out of 10 mobile phone users were Unitel customers, which compared to the end of 2019 saw a 9,6% growth in its number of customers, which today stands at around 13,3 million.
The departure of users of Movicel telephony services has been recurrent, with several former customers pointing the finger at the poor quality of voice and internet services as a justification for the “escape” to Unitel.
As if that were not enough, the crisis and inflation also have their weight in these dropouts, due to the fact that the purchasing power of consumers has been falling for several years. Thus, there are also reports of customers who had active cards from both operators, but who in recent times have chosen to use Unitel only.
“It is difficult to maintain both operators, in these financially tight times. We are forced to leave Movicel because it has less quality”, justifies the young António Gaspar to Expansão.
