About 2,725 mobile subscribers dumped T2 between August and October 2025, despite the network’s rebrand from 9mobile, according to the latest Mobile Number Portability data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission.

The figures show that 1,111 subscribers ported out of T2 in August, 724 in September, and 890 in October 2025. Over the same three-month period, only 61 subscribers ported into the network, leaving T2 with a net loss of 2,664 customers.

The data confirms that the rebrand has not yet slowed the pace at which users are abandoning the operator. In October 2025 alone, 890 customers exited T2, compared with 289 leaving Airtel, 193 leaving Globacom, and 225 leaving MTN. A total of 1,597 subscribers ported out of all networks that month, meaning T2 accounted for more than half of all recorded exits.

The trend has been consistent since the start of the year. Outgoing porting — which records the number of subscribers leaving a network while retaining their phone numbers — continued to place T2 far ahead of other operators in 2025.

The trend began strongly at the start of the year, with 6,716 subscribers leaving in January, followed by 3,817 in February, 1,992 in March, 5,042 in April, 3,863 in May, and 3,372 in June.

The exits slowed but remained significant in the second half of the year, as 646 subscribers left in July, 1,111 in August, 724 in September, and 890 in October.

The Incoming data tells the same story from the opposite direction. While thousands left the network during the year, only a handful joined. In October 2025, only 26 subscribers ported into T2, compared with 937 who joined MTN, 357 who moved to Airtel, and 277 to Globacom.

September and August saw 20 and 15 subscribers, respectively, join T2 from other networks. Only 20 new port-ins were recorded for T2 in September and 15 in August, continuing a trend seen since January. By contrast, MTN consistently attracted the highest volume of incoming ports across the year.

Overall, between January and October 2025, 28,173 subscribers ported out of T2, while only 87 joined the network, signalling persistent customer dissatisfaction despite the new brand identity.

Mobile Number Portability allows subscribers to switch networks without changing their phone numbers, and the NCC’s monthly reports are widely tracked as an indicator of consumer sentiment in the telecom industry.

In August 2025, The PUNCH reported that Nigerian telecoms operator 9mobile rebranded to T2 as part of a strategic push to revive its market position, expand its reach, and compete more aggressively in the country’s fast-growing digital economy.

The move marked the “Transformation” stage of the company’s four-phase recovery plan: Stabilisation, Modernisation, Transformation, and Growth, which was introduced following the 2023 acquisition of 9mobile by Lighthouse Telecoms, led by businessman and investor Thomas Etuh.

Since the takeover, the operator has overhauled its leadership team, reconstituted its board, and signed a landmark three-year national roaming agreement with MTN Nigeria in July.

The deal, the first of its scale in the market, has allowed 9mobile subscribers to roam seamlessly on MTN’s nationwide network, improving coverage, capacity, and service quality in areas where 9mobile’s own network had been limited.

The Minister for Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, welcomed the rebrand but urged the company to translate it into concrete service improvements.

“Let this rebrand be more than a change of colours or new logo,” he said, calling for a “renewed commitment to innovation, to service excellence and to the millions of Nigerians whose lives and businesses depend on your network every single day.”

By September 2025, The PUNCH reported that MTN Nigeria Communications Plc secured the approval of the Nigerian Communications Commission to lease frequency spectrum from T2 Mobile Limited, formerly 9Mobile, in a move aimed at strengthening its network capacity and advancing digital inclusion.

In a notice to the Nigerian Exchange Limited and the investing public, the telecommunications giant said the lease agreement, which takes effect from October 1, 2025, covers 5 MHz frequency division duplex in the 900 MHz band and 15 MHz FDD in the 1800 MHz band. The arrangement will run for an initial period of three years.

According to the company, the spectrum lease is central to its national roaming agreement with T2 Mobile, as it will enable MTN Nigeria to effectively manage increased network traffic from T2’s customer base using its infrastructure.

The move, It added, reflects its commitment to industry collaboration, infrastructure sharing, and the broader goal of boosting digital access across the country. However, the NCC data show that T2 consistently led the industry in outgoing porting activity during the year. (Sunday PUNCH)

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