• ‘326 km of primary roads in Nigeria have zero network service’
• ITU collaborates with NITDA as Nigeria benefits from €15m broadband infrastructure

Increased cases of network congestion, slow data speeds, and erratic connectivity might have forced 41,239 telephone users to exchange one network for another in 2025.

Updated data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) showed that these 41,239 telephone users used the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) scheme to port out and into the various networks in search of a stable network, which was not readily available in the period under review.

In its 13th year, MNP was launched in Nigeria by the NCC in April 2013 to enable subscribers to switch between mobile networks while retaining their original phone number.

The primary purpose of the MNP was to enhance consumer choice, increase competition, and force operators to improve service quality.

However, the multi-SIM nature of Nigerians appeared to have defeated the essence of the scheme, as one subscriber can belong to the four major service providers in the country in the quest for improved services.

The Guardian gathered that MTN got more subscribers into its network through MNP in 2025, with some 24, 550 porting into it, while 3,480 moved to other operators. Airtel got 11,035 more customers, while 3,732 left. For Globacom, 4,059 users dumped the network, while 5,542 users were accepted into it. T2 recorded the highest port out, losing 29,877, while 107 users ported into the network.

Meanwhile, while T2 might have suffered through MNP, the NCC report, which tested operators in technical compliance on road network coverage, rated the network top ahead of others.

According to the Q4 2025 Industry Performance Report, carried out by Ookla, a global leader in network intelligence and connectivity insights, Southern and Central corridors, such as Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, enjoy robust signal in major road network coverage, while the Northern corridors face significantly sparse coverage.

According to the report, T2 leads the technical compliance on major road network connectivity, outperforming larger legacy carriers in keeping signals strictly within technical standards along highways (trunk roads).

In another development, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has reinforced its commitment to Nigeria’s digital development.

This was made known when the Director, Telecommunication Development Bureau of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Dr Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, paid a courtesy visit to the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in Abuja.

Zavazava was accompanied by the ITU Regional Director for Africa, Dr Emmanuel Manasseh, as part of the ITU delegation.

The delegation was received on behalf of the Director General of NITDA by the Director of Corporate Planning and Strategy, Dr Warowei Dimie, alongside other directors of the Agency.

Dimie, who spoke on behalf of the NITDA DG, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to deepening collaboration with ITU, describing the organisation’s global experience as a valuable asset for transferring tested solutions and best practices to Nigeria’s local context.

In a statement yesterday, he noted that digital skills and capacity building featured prominently in the discussions, as Nigeria pursues its ambitious target of achieving 70 per cent digital literacy nationwide by next year, with encouraging progress recorded through partnerships with the private sector and other stakeholders.

In his remark, Zavazava outlined ITU-BDT’s mandate to bridge the digital divide, promote inclusive ICT development, strengthen regulatory frameworks, and support member-states in building resilient digital infrastructure.

He noted that those priorities strongly align with Nigeria’s digital transformation aspirations, adding that ITU works across its 194 member-states through regional and area offices, including its West Africa office in Dakar, Senegal, and the Africa regional office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Meanwhile, NITDA noted that the courtesy visit underscored the importance of sustained collaboration between international development institutions and national agencies, reaffirming the shared commitment of ITU and NITDA to leveraging ICTs for sustainable development, innovation, and inclusive socio-economic growth in Nigeria.