MNP: MTN Leads in Inward Porting as 9mobile Dominates Outward Movement

Emma Okonji

The latest statistics released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Mobile Number Portability (MNP), shows that MTN topped the list of inward porting in the last one year, followed by Airtel, while 9mobile recorded the highest number of outward porting in the last one year.

Inward porting is the number of subscribers that ported from another service provider’s network into a particular service provider’s network in search of better service quality, while outward porting is the number of subscribers that ported to another service provider’s network from a particular service provider’s network as a result of poor service quality.

Mobile Number Portability is the transfer of mobile number from one service provider to another, on the request of the telecoms subscriber who wishes to change service provider as a result of poor service quality experienced on the network. While the MNP policy allows the subscriber to maintain the original mobile number on the new network, the policy also stipulates that the subscriber must remain on the new network for a period of at least 90 days before the subscriber could port back to its original service provider’s network or to any other network of choice.

According to the statistics on inward porting, which THISDAY obtained from the official website of NCC, more subscribers ported to the MTN network on a monthly basis from January 2024 to January 2025, followed by Airtel.

In January 2024, MTN recorded 2,270 inward porting, followed by Airtel, which recorded 541, Globacom recorded 187 and 9mobile recorded 156, which brought the total number of inward porting to 3,154 in January 2024.

In February 2024, MTN recorded 2,989 inward porting, Airtel (682), Globacom (198) and 9mobile (75), which brought the total number of inward porting to 3,944 in February 2024.

In March 2024, MTN recorded 1,296 inward porting, Airtel (343), Globacom (210) and 9mobile (62), which brought the total number of inward porting to 1,911 in March 2024.

In April 2024, MTN recorded 2,482 inward porting, Airtel (784), Globacom (370) and 9mobile (33), which brought the total number of inward porting to 3,669 in April 2024.

In May 2024, MTN recorded 3,379 inward porting, Airtel (776), Globacom (286) and 9mobile (226), which brought the total number of inward porting to 4,657 in May2024.

In June 2024, MTN recorded 2,655 inward porting, Airtel (698), Globacom (347) and 9mobile (22), which brought the total number of inward porting to 3,722 in June 2024.

In July 2024, MTN recorded 4,238 inward porting, Airtel (1,629), Globacom (483) and 9mobile (11), which brought the total number of inward porting to 6,361 in July 2024.

In August 2024, MTN recorded 3,617 inward porting, Airtel (2,287), Globacom (569) and 9mobile (40), which brought the total number of inward porting to 6,513 in August 2024.

In September 2024, MTN recorded 4,987 inward porting, Airtel (2,205), Globacom (664) and 9mobile (30), which brought the total number of inward porting to 7,886 in September 2024.

In October 2024, MTN recorded 3,624 inward porting, Airtel (1,747), Globacom (451) and 9mobile (25), which brought the total number of inward porting to 5,847 in October 2024.

In November 2024, MTN recorded 3,019 inward porting, Airtel (1,266), Globacom (414) and 9mobile (27), which brought the total number of inward porting to 3,019 in November 2024.

In December 2024, MTN recorded 1,856 inward porting, Airtel (835), Globacom (290) and 9mobile (17), which brought the total number of inward porting to 2,998 in November 2024.

In January 2025, MTN recorded 5,551inward porting, Airtel (2,414), Globacom (736) and 9mobile (7), which brought the total number of inward porting to 8,708 in January 2025.

The NCC statistics on outward porting, showed that 9mobile recorded the highest in the last one year, which explained that more subscribers left the 9mobile network to other networks in search of better service quality.

According to the statistics, in January 2024, 9mobile alone recorded 2,163, out of a total of 3,154 outward porting recorded across networks.

In February 2024, 9mobile alone recorded 2,947, out of a total of 3,944 outward porting recorded across networks.

In March 2024, 9mobile alone recorded 1,333, out of a total of 1,911 outward porting recorded across networks.

In April 2024, 9mobile alone recorded 2,719, out of a total of 3,669 outward porting recorded across networks.

In May 2024, 9mobile alone recorded 3,604, out of a total of 4,657 outward porting recorded across networks.

In June 2024, 9mobile alone recorded 3,007, out of a total of 3,722 outward porting recorded across networks.

In July 2024, 9mobile alone recorded 5,127, out of a total of 6,361 outward porting recorded across networks.

In August 2024, 9mobile alone recorded 5,706, out of a total of 6,513 outward porting recorded across networks.

In September 2024, 9mobile alone recorded 7,127, out of a total of 7,886 outward porting recorded across networks.

In October 2024, 9mobile alone recorded 4,846, out of a total of 5,847 outward porting recorded across networks.

In November 2024, 9mobile alone recorded 3,891, out of a total of 4,726 outward porting recorded across networks.

In December 2024, 9mobile alone recorded 2,188, out of a total of 2,998 outward porting recorded across networks.

In January 2025, 9mobile alone recorded 6,716, out of a total of 8,708 outward porting recorded across networks.