9Mobile is shelling out $3 billion to regain about 22 million customers lost by the number four mobile network operator (MNO) by transforming itself into a service-first organisation, Obafemi Banigbe, CEO of the the telecoms company says.  

Banigbe, who assumed leadership of 9Mobile six months ago, describes transformation underway at the telecoms company as a critical step toward regaining customer trust, and reestablishing its foothold in Nigeria’s competitive telecoms market. 

“So, what are we going to do in order to recapture that market share?” Banigbe asks during a virtual media chat attended by Technology Times.

Obafemi Banigbe, 9Mobile CEO: We want to reposition as service-first telco

For the 9Mobile CEO, “the first thing for us is really service-first. We have to reposition ourselves as a service organisation. To do that, it means that we have to refresh our entire infrastructure from everything you can think of in making a telecoms network work.”

This pledge comes as 9Mobile grapples with a sharp decline in subscribers, mounting operational costs, and years of underinvestment in its network infrastructure.

9Mobile, formerly Etisalat Nigeria, peaked its customer base at 22 million subscribers between 2014 and 2016, offering innovative services and enjoying a strong brand reputation especially with a young audience. However, the company’s problems started in 2017 when its parent company, Etisalat of UAE exited the Nigerian market following a $1.2 billion loan default.  

Rebranded as 9Mobile, the company struggled to maintain its competitive edge, with subscriber numbers dropping to just over 3 million by October 2024. Its market share fell to 2.15%, leaving it far behind competitor like MTN, Airtel, and Globacom.  

By January 2024, 9Mobile had 13,799,694 subscribers, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). However, the latest statistics from October 2024 reveal a drop to 3,389,897 subscribers. 

Customer frustration has been evident, with complaints about poor network quality and unreliable services filing social media platforms. A quick search for terms like “9mobile issues” reveals disgruntled users lamenting lack of service, slow internet speeds, and overall dissatisfaction. 

Banigbe attributes these problems to years of underinvestment in infrastructure. “But since Etisalat has exited the market, the performance of the business has been on the decline. So at the time the new shareholders and the new management took over the business, the business was really grappling with multi-dimensional challenges that we had to take on headlong.”

According to him, “we have the issue of infrastructure. The overall infrastructure of the business has really not been upgraded. So we’re dealing with a lot of obsolete infrastructure, and then we are dealing with a whole lot of issues of declining revenue, declining subscriber base, costs that are skyrocketing in the business.”

To address these issues, 9Mobile has launched a four-phase recovery plan. The first phase, termed stabilisation according to the 9mobile CEO, focuses on improving network quality, reducing costs, and boosting employee morale. For the past six months that he has been in office, Banigbe says the goal is to stabilise the business, and keep it operational while laying the groundwork for deeper changes and revamping the internal process.

The second phase focused on modernisation, aim to overhaul the 9Mobile’s outdated infrastructure.  “So we’re currently in the process of refreshing our radio network, our core network, our transmission infrastructure, our billing system, our charging system, even our ERP systems,” Banigbe says.

“It’s like rebuilding the entire network from the scratch. This is exactly what we are poised to do. And as we understand, that costs a lot of money in order to be able to put all these things back in place, put in a service delivery platform that is more modern, that is more digital, that enables us to reposition ourselves as an innovative brand,” Banigbe explains.

The 9Mobile CEO also reveals that the telecoms operator has secured the commitment of stakeholders to fund this plan.

“All of these will cost money. And the good news is that we have secured the commitment of our shareholders and the new investors in the business to secure the required amount of money that we need in order to be able to implement the overall modernisation agenda for the business,” he says.

Banigbe estimates that 9Mobile would need to invest $3 billion over the next four years to bring its network up to par with the standard of its competitors, and also compete in the Nigerian telecoms market.

However, Banigbe reckons that “the investment that is going to be brought into 9Mobile is much more determined by management in terms of being able to figure out what is the best likely option that allows us to be able to catch up with competition without necessarily burning through cash. And that is the challenge that I’m facing now.”

The third phase focusing on transformation, involves revamping 9mobile’s product offerings and rebranding efforts to reconnect with customers. Banigbe understands the importance of rebuilding trust through better services and a stronger brand presence. “Our brand has taken a major hit,” he admits. “So we are going to be doing a lot of brand refresh activities, a lot of visibility out there in 2025, so that we can at least compete in the market like we used to.”  

The fourth phase of the plan focusing on growth will see 9mobile aiming to expand its subscriber base and revenue streams. The company plans to focus on historically strong segments, such as young people and SMEs, to regain lost market share. 

“We need to recover our subscriber base, we need to recover our market position, and then we also need to grow our revenues, because we have not been able to participate fully in the growth that the industry has experienced in the last six, seven years, because of the fact that there has not been a major investment in the business,” the 9Mobile CEO says. 

The 9mobile CEO believes that infrastructure sharing can reduce costs and accelerate expansion. 

“At the same time, we’re also looking at opportunities to take advantage of, let me use the word sharing, because we’re not going to be able to build every single fibre, every single base station by ourselves, given that we are far away in the market.”

According to Banigbe, “so I have adopted a mantra, and my mantra is, I will build infrastructure where I must, and I will share infrastructure where I can.” 

While building and maintaining telecoms infrastructure in Nigeria is capital-intensive, challenges ranging from vandalism to high right-of-way costs, also trail the telecoms sector.

Banigbe says that laying fiber optic cables, for example, can cost up to $10,000 to $15,000 per kilometre, with trenching alone accounting for 70% of that expense. He sees collaboration with other operators to share infrastructure as a pathway to significantly reduce these costs.  

Despite the challenges, Banigbe is optimistic about 9mobile’s future and the broader prospects for Nigeria’s telecoms industry. He cites the country’s growing population, increasing demand for digital services, and government support for telecoms infrastructure as key drivers of growth. With all these, the 9mobile CEO is confident that the MNO would be able to recapture its lost market share. 

According to him, “those are market shares that we can still regain because, as you know, the population of Nigeria is increasing. New businesses are starting every day. New people are getting to the market every day.”

For Banigbe, “young people are still the majority from the point of view of demography as far as the Nigerian population is concerned. There is still a chance for us to be able to recapture our lost brand. It requires a lot of work, but the underlying thing that has to happen is that we must bring back service quality in our network and the customer experience that we are used to.”

He also praised recent government policies aimed at supporting the industry.

“You see, now the government has announced that they want to do this 90,000 kilometre of fibre. That effectively means that if the government does it as a shared infrastructure, then we as 9mobile would not need to go and build thousands of kilometres of fibre just because we want to extend broadband into some areas that we don’t have infrastructure in. It means that we can then go to the government and then lease that capacity from the government at an affordable price. So that helps us as an operator because that reduces our cost burden…that enables us to optimise the use of our capital,” according to Banigbe.