The telecom company 9mobile, which recently changed its name to T2, saw its first increase in July, adding 290,601 new users. A recent infrastructure sharing agreement with MTN, the biggest mobile network operator, fueled this growth.
The telecom operator, which had seen a steady drop in its customer base over the years, saw its first monthly subscriber gain in almost a year.
9mobile stands out
As for July, 9mobile was the only one of the four MNOs to add new customers during a month when Globacom, MTN, and Airtel all lost customers.
In June of this year, the nation had 171.5 million active mobile subscriptions, which fell to 169.1 million in July.
The three mobile network operators’ losses, particularly Airtel’s loss of 2.4 million subscriptions during the month, were the leading causes of the decline.
The number of active subscribers for the telco fell from 58.9 million in June to 56.5 million in July.
While Globacom’s subscriptions fell by 143,701 to 20.7 million, MTN lost 106,345 subscriptions during the month, bringing its database down to 89.1 million in July.
MTN’s market domination
With a market share of 52.70 per cent, MTN continued to dominate the industry, while its share of 33.42 per cent kept it in second place.
Despite the gains, Globacom’s market share remained at 12.26 per cent, while 9mobile held its far-reaching fourth place with 1.61 per cent.
The country’s teledensity, which counts the number of active phone connections per 100 residents in a given area, decreased from 79.22 per cent in June to 78.11 per cent in July, in tandem with the operators’ reported decrease in actively connected lines.
NCC claims that a population estimate of 216 million is used to compute the teledensity.
NCC’s approval of the MTN-9mobile network roaming deal
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) approved a nationwide roaming agreement between MTN and 9mobile on June 1st, 2025.
This agreement enables 9mobile customers to access network service anywhere in the nation where MTN’s network is available.
Due to a lack of funding for infrastructure development, 9mobile’s network deteriorated and its subscriber base drastically shrank before the deal.
In places where 9mobile’s network is unavailable or unreliable, subscribers can now use MTN’s infrastructure to make calls, send SMS, and access data, thanks to the national roaming agreement, which will help the telco remain sustainable.
Rather than investing in capital-intensive infrastructure development, 9mobile can connect directly to MTN’s extensive network.
The agreement was a game-changer for the two telecom operators and was a massive step toward broader network coverage and digital inclusion in Nigeria.