MTN Nigeria has attributed the rapid depletion of subscribers’ data bundles to high-resolution video streaming, automatic downloads, background applications and cloud backups, dismissing allegations that telecom operators deliberately deduct customers’ data.
The company said many smartphone users unknowingly consume large amounts of data through applications and device settings that continue running even when they are not actively browsing.
Speaking at a forum titled Data on Trial in Abuja on Monday, held on the sidelines of the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit, MTN Nigeria’s General Manager of Network Performance, Mike Ndukwe, said data consumption largely depended on users’ online activities and smartphone configurations.
“We’re not stealing your data. However, we completely understand how it feels, especially right now, where every amount counts. But the honest answer is that data is not taken without an action, either your action or your phone,” he said.
Ndukwe identified TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and WhatsApp as some of the applications that could consume significant amounts of data, depending on video quality, autoplay settings and automatic downloads.
He explained that a 15-second TikTok video could consume between two and 20 megabytes, depending on its resolution, while high-definition streaming used substantially more data than standard-definition viewing.
According to him, although ordinary WhatsApp text messages consume relatively little data, videos, status updates, group messages and automatic media downloads can quickly exhaust subscribers’ bundles.
“If your WhatsApp is set on auto-download, straight away it hits your data bundle. And that is where you can optimise some of your settings,” he said.
Ndukwe disclosed that WhatsApp had approximately 45 million users in Nigeria, while TikTok was among the platforms generating substantial data traffic. He also cited figures showing that data consumption had increased by about 43 per cent year-on-year.
He advised subscribers to disable automatic downloads, reduce video-streaming quality, activate data-saving features and monitor their usage through the MyMTN application.
Also speaking, MTN Nigeria’s General Manager of IT Operations, David Ogunsola, said differences between data usage displayed on smartphones and figures recorded by telecom networks could result from variations in measurement methods, background traffic and the timing of data sessions.
“The data that you measure on your devices is slightly different from what traverses over the network and what’s on the charge,” he said.
Ogunsola added that measurement variations and rounding could account for differences ranging from two per cent to approximately 12 per cent in some circumstances.
He explained that network technology, such as 3G or 4G, primarily determined connection speed, while video quality and application settings influenced the volume of data consumed.
“The network type that you are on, whether it’s 3G or 4G, just like Mike also explained earlier, would determine not how much data you use, but how fast you’re able to do what it is that you want to do,” he said.
MTN Nigeria’s Chief Executive Officer, Karl Toriola, defended the cost of providing telecommunications services, citing electricity expenses and the cost of powering and maintaining network sites across the country.
“Please understand that this country, as well as a few other African countries, we are providing power and transportation to all of our sites,” he said.
Toriola maintained that Nigerian telecom operators deployed equipment comparable to those used in Europe and the United States but faced higher operating costs, particularly for electricity.
He said MTN was intensifying consumer education to help subscribers understand their smartphone settings and manage their internet usage more effectively.
Similarly, Xiaomi Nigeria’s Northwest Sales Manager, Kevin Kojode, identified automatic software updates, cloud synchronisation, background applications and unrestricted hotspot connections as factors that could cause unexpected data depletion.
“Today, users don’t just go online, they stay online,” Kojode said.
Using a one-gigabyte subscription as an example, he explained how background updates, cloud backups and operating-system activities could consume data without users deliberately initiating downloads.
Kojode advised subscribers to restrict automatic updates to Wi-Fi connections, set data usage limits, monitor hotspot connections and reduce streaming quality.
He added that understanding smartphone data-management features could help users monitor consumption, control data sharing and make their subscriptions last longer.