MTN Nigeria and Airtel now hold combined 86% of the country’s telecommunications market share between them, according to information on the Nigerian Communications Commission’s website.
According to industry watchers, the state of Nigeria’s telecom sector, in this light, can no longer be described as ‘competition’, as the sector is now drifting towards duopoly.
How?
9mobile missing in Action
9mobile, formerly known as Etisalat Nigeria, was once a thriving telecommunications brand in Nigeria, known for its innovative services and strong customer base.
It gained popularity as the fourth GSM operator in Nigeria and quickly established a significant presence, becoming a favourite among youth for its innovative offerings.
Today, 9mobile is gasping for air. It is faced with significant challenges, including prolonged network downtime, which has led to customer frustration and financial losses.
Subscribers have reported issues making calls, sending SMS, and accessing the internet, along with difficulties in porting their numbers to other networks.
These disruptions have prompted customers to voice their concerns on social media and demand intervention from regulatory bodies like the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
It became so frustrating that customers even believe when false news was circulated that 9mobile was shutting down operations.
9mobile has lost a substantial portion of its subscriber base, moving from 23.4 million subscribers in 2015 to just 2.96 million as of February and March 2025.
…Globacom losing grounds
On the other hand, Globacom, commonly known as Glo, has played a significant role in shaping Nigeria’s telecom landscape.
Glo revolutionized Nigeria’s telecom industry by introducing per-second billing, making mobile communication more affordable.
It is the first single company in Africa to build a high-capacity submarine fiber-optic cable, enhancing internet speeds and connectivity.
Glo has sponsored major sporting events, including the Nigerian Premier League and the Glo-CAF Awards, promoting African football.
The company has positively impacted Nigerians through various initiatives, including promos that have helped people win houses, cars, and financial rewards.
Glo continues to push boundaries with its 4G LTE network, offering high-speed mobile internet to users.
Glo boasts of millions of subscribers in Nigeria and Ghana, establishing itself as a major telecom player.
However, analysis by Techeconomy shows that the MNO is facing decline is subscriber base too. The company’s market share has slumped to a record low of 11.9% as of April 2025, following a 69% drop in its reported subscriber base.
From over 60 million active users at the beginning of 2024, Glo now stands at just 20.6 million. In April alone, 108,393 subscribers dropped the network, according to data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
Industry watchers are worried over Glo’s sharp fall which exposes customer dissatisfaction and an indictment of how far the company has drifted from its pioneering roots.
Once a national pride known for disrupting the market with per-second billing and free SIMs, Glo has now become the poster child for stagnation.
Beyond losing subscribers, Glo is losing trust. Between January and May 2025, the network suffered 45 major outages, second only to 9mobile’s 63. These blackouts could be attributed to fibre cuts, vandalism, equipment theft and power failures which repeatedly affected its services.
On 21 May, for instance, Glo users in five states were left without voice, data, SMS and USSD access for over eight hours. A fibre cut in Adamawa and Taraba on 20 May took more than four days to fix.
Other networks have issues, yes, but they respond faster. MTN, for example, typically resolves disruptions in 1–3 hours. Glo’s slow response times frustrate users, making them port to other networks. In April alone, 1,233 subscribers ported out of Glo.
“Globacom’s problem is mostly corporate governance, not because of a lack of subscribers,” said Wole Adetuyi, CEO of Swift Telephone Network said in a recent interview. “What it does is to make people think that the telecom business cannot be efficiently done by Nigerian executives, which is not true. There are many successful Nigerian companies in the telecom industry.”
The NCC has now turned its attention to Glo, auditing its SIM registration and data compliance processes.
While all telcos operate under the weight of Nigeria’s unstable business environment and infrastructure gaps, Glo needs drastic changes; starting with corporate (governance) restructuring and major investments in infrastructure to avoid losing its position in Nigeria’s telecom sector it once helped build.
