Former 9mobile Now T2 Records Subscriber Gains On The Back Of Its Network Sharing Deal With MTN, Signs With Huawei Also
The Oasis Reporters
August 28, 2025
Things are looking up now for Telecommunications operator 9mobile which rebranded recently as T2 as it has recorded its first gain of the year in July this year with the addition of 290,601 new users to it’s network.
This has come on the heels of its infrastructure reengineering through strategic thinking necessitated by going into a sharing deal with Nigeria’s largest network, MTN, thus moving from depressingly downward decline to a modest upward swing and things seem set to look up.
Meanwhile, since T2 has shown so much robust resilience after Etisalat dumped them making them to hurriedly reinvent themselves as 9mobile. The core Nigerian staff that stayed back even when things didn’t seem to be working, knew that they had something going for them: Their strength in data. And things could swing in their favour in the near future.
In Nigeria, Data is king. Mobile payments make it critically important in the life of every citizen. Therefore as the network was struggling, Citizens were hoping for the best in turnaround managerial abilities. The core staff that remained sold hope, on empty stomach.
Little wonder that while the rest of the telco industry was contracting with Airtel Nigeria leading the decline, losing 2.4 million customers in July, shrinking its base to 56.5 million from 58.9 million in June, Globacom was shedding 143,701 users to end the month with 20.7 million subscribers, while MTN Nigeria slipped by 106,345 to 89.1 million from 89.2 million in June.
In the same period, T2 Mobile, formerly 9mobile, was posting its first subscriber gain in nearly two years in July 2025, reversing a 20-month decline, even as Nigeria’s telecom industry shed 2.4 million customers, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) data.
The rebound comes on the heels of T2’s August 2025 rebrand and a roaming deal with MTN Nigeria, giving its subscribers access to MTN’s network across the country.
Huawei of China has noticed this. They’ve already come in with a multi million dollars deal to cure their core infrastructure problems. It shows that it is headed somewhere good and the future they dreamt of is now here.
At the moment, wherever MTN goes or is, T2 may likely work there. But soon, it may stand fully on its own, when Huawei moves from signing the deal to rolling in the critical equipment. Their core network infrastructure wins, and this bold move would make it competitive.
As said earlier, in July, T2 added 290,601 users, expanding its base to 2.7 million from 2.4 million in June, and marking its first net growth since late 2023.
Its market share also inched up from 1.4% in June to 1.6% in July, suggesting early signs of recovery.
This reverses a 20-month decline, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) data.
Its market share also inched up from 1.4% in June to 1.6% in July, suggesting early signs of recovery.
Modest gains there, but with the feeling of recovery and joy in their camp, things seem set to get even better.
There is currently an ongoing struggle to regain growth momentum after tariff hikes introduced in January across all sectors of the industry.
Given the central role of data in essential services such as digital banking.
Internet data traffic, a clear indicator of Nigeria’s growing digital appetite, has been climbing steadily since March and reached a record 1.1 billion terabytes in July 2025.
Credits: Tech Cabal
NCC
Nairametrics
In-house reporting.
