9mobile Struggles As Customers Migrate To Competitors Amid Leadership Transition

9mobile, Nigeria’s telecommunications company, continued to face challenges with customer retention as over 7,000 subscribers opted to move to competing networks in September, according to recent data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

This comes as 9mobile undergoes a leadership change, with LH Telecommunications Limited recently taking ownership. The NCC report revealed that 9mobile accounted for a striking 90 per cent of the 7,886 outgoing porting recorded in September, while other operators MTN, Airtel, and Glo shared just 10 per cent.

This outflow has further reduced 9mobile’s subscriber base, leaving the operator with 3.6 million active users, well behind its competitors.

MTN emerged as the main beneficiary in terms of new subscribers.

In September alone, MTN attracted 4,987 incoming subscribers, making up 63 per cent of all incoming porting activity. Airtel gained 2,205 new subscribers, while Globacom attracted 664, with 9mobile recording the lowest incoming porting numbers—30 customers.

The latest data also highlights the competitive pressure within Nigeria’s telecom sector, driven not only by the quality of service but also by competitive call and data promotions offered by operators.

MTN, with its substantial subscriber base of 78 million, continues to dominate, followed by Airtel with 53.7 million active subscriptions. Globacom, despite some recent losses, holds third place with 19 million active subscriptions, further illustrating the challenges faced by 9mobile.

The data underscored the difficult path ahead for 9mobile’s new management, as the company seeks to reverse a trend of subscriber loss and reposition itself in an increasingly competitive market.