Nigeria’s telecom market is becoming increasingly concentrated around MTN Nigeria and Airtel as Glo loses subscribers and T2 Mobile’s latest figures remain unchanged because of a reporting failure.
The latest subscriber performance data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) puts T2 Mobile’s subscriber base at 802,534 in April, May and June 2026. The identical figures reflect the operator’s failure to submit updated reports during the period, rather than a lack of movement among its subscribers.
If smaller players lose ground or their performance becomes difficult to assess, consumers could have fewer credible alternatives when prices rise or service deteriorates, reducing the competitive pressure on operators to improve affordability, network quality, and customer service.
The NCC told TechCabal on Wednesday that T2’s “inability to provide updated reports” was due to “technical challenges.”
“We explicitly stated on the website that reports are based on the last submission received from operators,” an NCC spokesperson said.
T2’s customer base did change during the period. According to NCC data, 73 subscribers switched to T2 while 1,897 switched to other networks, resulting in a net loss of 1,824 subscribers through number porting alone.
“It would therefore be highly unusual for the telco’s subscriber base to remain exactly unchanged,” said Osita Odafi, a telecom expert. He added that the figures likely reflect “a reporting or data-submission issue rather than T2’s actual subscriber base.”
While T2’s actual position remains unclear, Glo’s numbers show a more visible decline. The operator grew its subscriber base by 7.8% between April and May but lost 7.3% in June, leaving it with fewer subscribers than it had in April. The June decline effectively erased the previous month’s gains.
Odafi said customer churn is the most plausible explanation, with service-quality challenges potentially playing a role. But he cautioned against viewing the decline solely as evidence of Glo’s poor performance.
“Nigeria’s difficult operating environment can make nonsense of even substantial investments in network infrastructure,” he said.
Telecom operators continue to face infrastructure disruptions, including fibre cuts, vandalism and access denials. The NCC reported more than 5,000 fibre-optic cable cuts across Nigeria in the first six months of 2026.
“These disruptions inevitably affect network availability and the quality of experience delivered to subscribers,” Odafi said. Customers facing persistent service interruptions may switch networks even when the underlying problem is damaged infrastructure or an operator’s inability to access affected sites.
MTN and Airtel continue to gain ground. MTN Nigeria’s active mobile internet subscriber base grew by 0.68% between April and June, while Airtel recorded stronger growth of 2.81% over the same period, including a 1.47 million-subscriber increase in June.
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