9mobile, Nigeria’s fourth-largest telecom operator, has seen its market share plummet to a historic low of 1.99% as its variety of subscribers (3.2 million) remained stagnant for 2 consecutive months, in response to knowledge from the Nigerian Communication Fee (NCC). It is a dramatic decline from the 23.4 million subscribers it boasted in 2015 when the corporate—then Etisalat Nigeria—had round 15.7% of the market share.
Whereas 9mobile’s subscriber base has remained flat, different telecom operators have grown. Market chief MTN Nigeria elevated its share to 51% with 84.6 million subscribers, up from 81.2 million in November.
Airtel additionally grew, reaching 56.6 million subscribers in December, up from 55.4 million in November. Globacom, which confronted a pointy drop in subscribers earlier in 2024 on account of a regulatory audit, grew its subscriber base from 19.6 million to twenty.1 million by the tip of the 12 months.
9mobile was the one main telco that didn’t enhance its subscriber rely in 2024, elevating issues about its declining efficiency.
Mild Home Telecom acquired a 95% stake in 9mobile in July 2024 for an estimated $750 million. Because it took over, the corporate has appointed a brand new chief govt and chief working officer. In December 2024, it additionally moved totally different division heads aspiring to strengthen the corporate, in response to two former workers.
The brand new house owners are but to inject capital into the enterprise, which is seen as important to shifting the corporate ahead.
“The funding continues to be not clear. The brand new purchaser has not finished something, no new deployment, they haven’t finished any upkeep. They might begin placing in cash now that the tariffs have elevated,” mentioned a telecom govt who selected to stay nameless to talk freely in regards to the firm.
The shortage of capital funding is very regarding given the operational challenges 9mobile is going through. Trade insiders stress that for 9mobile to regain market share, it should modernize its community infrastructure, enhance buyer acquisition efforts, and doubtlessly cut back costs to stay aggressive. With out the required funding, these targets will likely be exhausting to attain.
9mobile’s stagnant subscriber base displays the broader challenges going through the corporate, together with community upkeep and buyer retention. Nonetheless, with out capital for brand new initiatives, it dangers falling additional behind its opponents, who proceed to put money into increasing their companies.