Millions of Nigerians may be unknowingly exhausting their mobile data because of their phone settings, video streaming habits and automatic downloads, MTN Nigeria has said.
The Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, made this known on Monday during the company’s “Data on Trial” experience in Abuja, where he urged subscribers to optimise their phone settings to reduce unnecessary data consumption and better manage their data bundles.
Toriola explained that the initiative was designed to address growing public concerns over data pricing and help consumers understand what truly drives data usage on their devices.
He said the cost of providing telecommunications services in Nigeria remained high because operators had to provide electricity, transportation and other infrastructure to keep their network sites running.
According to him, although many Nigerians believe data is expensive, telecom operators in the country face operating costs that are significantly higher than those in developed countries despite using the same 4G and 5G technologies.
> “Please, understand that in this country, as well as some other African countries, we are providing power and transportation to all our sites. The cost of electricity, for instance, is higher here than in the UK,” Toriola said.
Speaking at the event, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Communications, Peter Akpatason, said the programme helped clear misconceptions about data pricing while educating consumers on how they could prevent avoidable data depletion through better device management.
Also speaking, MTN’s General Manager, Network Performance and Quality Assurance, Mike Ndukwe, identified video streaming, TikTok usage, WhatsApp media downloads, social media activities and automatic application updates as some of the biggest causes of rapid data consumption.
He explained that while opening a TikTok video used little data, streaming or downloading high-definition videos consumed much more, noting that a 15-second TikTok clip could use between 2MB and 20MB depending on its quality.
Ndukwe advised subscribers to disable automatic media downloads, limit background data usage, reduce video quality, switch on data-saving features and configure large downloads to take place only when connected to Wi-Fi.
He added that customers could also monitor their data usage in real time through the MyMTN app, stressing that what many users describe as unexplained data depletion was often the result of their phone settings and online activities rather than incorrect deductions by the network.
The MTN official also recommended MTN FiberX as an unlimited internet option for subscribers with heavy data needs, saying the company would continue educating customers on practical ways to maximise every data bundle.