Physical Address
60 Ekwema Cres, Layout 460281, Imo
IHS Towers Disconnects 9Mobile (T2mobile) from 2,576 Towers Due to Mounting Debts
IHS Towers has disconnected T2mobile (formerly known as 9Mobile) from 2,576 of its tower sites because of growing unpaid debts. This move started in the third quarter of 2025 and comes as a big setback for T2mobile’s effort to rebrand and bounce back in the telecom market.
In its Q3 financial report, IHS Towers, a global leader in shared communications infrastructure, explained that it cut ties with T2mobile to push the company to clear some of its long-standing debts. They also mentioned that T2mobile is its smallest key customer in Nigeria. This shows how serious the situation is.
This disconnection of the 2,576 towers by IHS Towers puts a lot of pressure on T2mobile. Since the days when the company was Etisalat, it has faced many problems, including debt issues, losing subscribers, and falling out of favor with both the market and investors. While losing these tower connections could help T2mobile reduce some operating costs, it’s still a major blow to its chances of growing in the Nigerian telecom scene.
To make matters worse, T2mobile has had service interruptions that caused long disruptions in voice and data for its users. Although services have since returned to normal, experts say that T2mobile must improve its network reliability to regain customers’ trust and rebuild its position.
Looking at the bigger picture, the Nigerian telecom industry is already facing many challenges, including vandalism of infrastructure and fibre optic cable cuts. Losing access to vital infrastructure like IHS Towers’ sites only makes things harder for T2mobile.
For T2mobile, losing these leased towers means more dropped calls, slower internet speeds, and potentially even more customers leaving for other providers. So far, the company hasn’t said how it plans to maintain network coverage after losing these towers.
Despite these setbacks, T2mobile’s Q3 2025 financial results showed some positive signs. It posted revenues of $455.1 million, which is an 8.3% increase year-on-year. This growth came mainly from organic business activities, even though it lost some revenue after exiting the Kuwait market. Most of the towers lost were linked to 9Mobile, with 2,576 out of 3,529 site losses during the quarter, bringing the total tenant number at IHS Towers down to 57,691.
There are still some bright spots for T2mobile. In September, the company signed a spectrum lease agreement with MTN Nigeria Communications Plc. This deal allows T2mobile to lease certain frequency bands for three years starting in October 2025. Thanks to this roaming agreement, T2 customers can use MTN’s network where T2 coverage is weak, helping to offer more reliable service nationwide.
Also, as part of its rebranding efforts, T2mobile secured a multi-million-dollar deal with Huawei to upgrade its network infrastructure. This partnership with Huawei aims to strengthen T2mobile’s ability to provide resilient and better services both now and in the future.
Read Next: WhatsApp Users in South Africa Will No Longer Face Account Loss for Rejecting New Privacy Terms
Supporting this optimistic side, data from the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) in August showed T2mobile gained 290,601 subscribers in July 2025, marking its first subscriber growth in two years. This gain is credited to the rebranding and the new national roaming agreement with MTN Nigeria.
While IHS Towers disconnects T2mobile from 2,576 towers due to mounting debts, and this definitely hurts T2mobile’s comeback plans, the company still has some deals and improvements lined up to stay in the game. The next move will be crucial in whether T2mobile can turn this situation around and regain its footing in Nigeria’s competitive telecom market.
Was this information useful? Drop a nice comment below. You can also check out other useful contents by following us on X/Twitter @siliconafritech, Instagram @Siliconafricatech, or Facebook @SiliconAfrica.
