Close to 3,000 users abandon telecom service after rebranding

About 2,725 mobile subscribers left T2 between August and October 2025, despite the company’s rebrand from 9mobile, according to recent Mobile Number Portability data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The data shows that 1,111 subscribers exited the network in August, 724 in September, and 890 in October 2025. Within the same three-month period, only 61 subscribers joined T2, resulting in a net loss of 2,664 customers.
These figures indicate that the rebrand has yet to slow the rate at which customers are leaving the operator. In October alone, 890 users departed T2, compared with 289 from Airtel, 193 from Globacom, and 225 from MTN. Out of the 1,597 subscribers who switched networks that month, T2 accounted for more than half of all exits.
This pattern has remained consistent throughout 2025. Outgoing porting which tracks subscribers who switch networks while keeping their phone numbers shows T2 recording significantly higher losses than its competitors from the beginning of the year.
The year began with particularly heavy losses: 6,716 subscribers left 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. Although the pace slowed in the second half of the year, departures remained notable, with 646 exits in July, 1,111 in August, 724 in September, and 890 in October.
Incoming subscriber data reflects a similar trend. In October 2025, only 26 subscribers switched to T2, compared with 937 who joined MTN, 357 who moved to Airtel, and 277 to Globacom. September and August recorded just 20 and 15 incoming subscribers respectively, continuing a pattern observed since January. MTN, by contrast, consistently attracted the highest number of new subscribers throughout the year.
Overall, between January and October 2025, a total of 28,173 subscribers ported out of T2, while only 87 joined the network. This highlights ongoing customer dissatisfaction despite the introduction of a new brand identity.
Mobile Number Portability allows users to change service providers without changing their phone numbers, and the NCC’s monthly reports are widely regarded as a key indicator of consumer sentiment in the telecommunications sector.
T2’s rebrand followed its acquisition in 2023 by Lighthouse Telecoms as part of a broader recovery strategy built around stabilisation, modernisation, transformation, and growth. Since then, the company has restructured its leadership, reconstituted its board, and entered into a national roaming agreement with MTN Nigeria to improve coverage and service quality.
Despite these measures and regulatory approvals supporting infrastructure sharing and spectrum leasing, NCC data shows that T2 continued to lead the industry in outgoing subscriber porting throughout 2025, suggesting that the network’s challenges extend beyond branding changes alone.