9mobile rebounds with first subscriber growth in 2025 after MTN infrastructure sharing deal

Telecommunications operator, 9mobile, which recently rebranded as T2, recorded its first gain of the year in July as it added 290,601 new subscribers in the month, spurred by its recent infrastructure sharing deal with the largest mobile network operator, MTN.

This came as the first monthly subscriber gain in nearly a year for the telecom operator that had experienced steady decline in its customer base over the years.

For July, 9mobile also emerged as the only operator out of the four MNOs that gained subscribers in a month that saw MTN, Airtel, and Globacom shed weight.

Active mobile subscriptions decline 

Meanwhile, active mobile subscriptions in the country plunged to 169.1 million in July from 171.5 million recorded in June this year.

The decline was driven by the losses recorded by the three mobile network operators but most significantly by Airtel, which lost 2.4 million subscriptions in the month.

• The telco’s active subscriptions plunged to 56.5 million in July from 58.9 million it recorded in June.
• MTN also lost 106,345 subscriptions in the month, which brought its database to 89.1 million in July, while Globacom’s subscriptions declined by 143,701 to 20.7 million.
• MTN remained the dominant player in the market with 52.70% of the market share, while maintained the second position with 33.42% share.
• Globacom’s market share stood at 12.26%, while 9mobile’s maintained its distant 4th position despite the gains recorded with 1.61% of the market share.

With the decline in actively connected lines recorded by the operators, the country’s teledensity, which measures the number of active telephone connections per 100 inhabitants living within an area, also declined to 78.11% in July from 79.22% recorded in June.

According to NCC, the teledensity is calculated based on a population estimate of 216 million.

Backstory 

On July 3rd, 2025, 9mobile and MTN officially announced a national roaming agreement approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), which allows customers of 9mobile will be able to access network service anywhere MTN’s network is available across the country.

Prior to the deal, 9mobile had suffered huge subscriber decline as its network deteriorates due to lack of fund to build infrastructure.

• With the national roaming deal, 9mobile subscribers will now be able to make calls, send SMS, and access data through MTN’s infrastructure in areas where 9mobile’s network doesn’t exist or is unreliable, enabling the telco’s sustainability.
• Instead of building out its own infrastructure, which is capital-intensive, 9mobile can now plug directly into MTN’s far-reaching network.
• The deal marked a game-changing move for the two telecom operators and a giant leap toward broader network coverage and digital inclusion in Nigeria.