With 7,127 users switching to other networks in September alone, telecom provider 9mobile is still seeing a decline in its client base.
9mobile accounted for 90 percent of the 7,886 outbound portings that were recorded during the month, according to data supplied by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). The remaining three network operators, MTN, Airtel, and Globacom, shared 10 percent of the outgoing porting.
This is despite the fact that the company just announced a new management after being acquired by LH Telecommunications Limited.
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MTN records highest subscribers from other networks
MTN, the biggest operator in terms of subscribers, acquired 4,987 subscribers from other networks in terms of incoming porting. accounting for 63 percent of the 7,886 incoming porting that was recorded during the month.
Globacom acquired 664 users from other operators, while Airtel also gained 2,205 customers from other networks, according to the report.
9mobile, the operator who lost thousands of users in September, only recorded 30 new members in the same month.
MTN leading with 78 million subscribers
The porting pattern at the end of March is also reflected in the operators’ subscription database. Notwithstanding the effects of the NIN-SIM linkage project during that time, MTN Nigeria continued to hold the top spot with 78 million total active subscriptions, according to NCC data.
Globacom lost more than 40 million customers, leaving the telco with just 19 million at the end of the month, while Airtel maintained its second-place ranking with 53.7 million active subscriptions in September.
By the end of September, 9mobile had only 3.6 million active members after months of steady subscription erosion.
Reasons subscribers switch from one network to another
Nigerian cellphone users’ port counts have been progressively declining over the years, from a peak of 22,539 in July 2015 to an average of 3,000 every month. The telecoms regulator thinks a number of causes are at play, despite the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) attributing the reduction to an increase in service quality.
Aside from the quality of service, NCC claimed that the majority of subscribers switched networks to take advantage of lower call and data rates on several promotions that network operators were offering.
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Acquisition of 9mobile by LH Telecommunications Ltd amid struggles
To restructure the business, 9mobile stated earlier in July that it had been acquired by LH Telecommunication Limited.
As mandated by law, NCC and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) approved the acquisition of the majority of the Nigerian telecom company, 9mobile said in a statement.
The investment, which was authorised by 9Mobile’s senior lender, African Export-Import Bank (AFREXIM), in May 2023, transferred ownership of the company to the new investor. In exchange for the new investor’s investment, 9Mobile issued new shares totalling 95.5 percent of the company.
The newly nominated investor has appointed a new board for the company in response to the cash infusion. Thomas Etuh, a successful and adaptable businessman with more than 36 years of expertise in key areas of the African economy, has been appointed as the new Chairman of the 9mobile Board. The board also includes Femi Edun and Nahim Abe Ibraheem as directors.
Senator Daisy Ehanire Danjuma, Michael Ikpoki, Ibrahim Puri, Gloria Danjuma, and Emmanuel Etuh were also proposed by LH Telecommunication Limited to join the 9Mobile board of directors.