MTN Nigeria has blamed rapid internet data consumption on activities such as video streaming, automatic downloads, background applications and cloud backups, insisting that telecommunications operators do not deliberately deplete subscribers’ data bundles.
The company said many smartphone users unknowingly consume large amounts of data because applications continue running in the background, while automatic updates and high-resolution videos increase internet usage.
Speaking at a forum tagged “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 subscribers’ online activities and phone settings largely determined how quickly their data bundles were exhausted.
“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, automatic playback and download settings.
He explained that a 15-second TikTok video could use between two and 20 megabytes of data, depending on its resolution, while high-definition videos require more data than standard-definition content.
He added that although ordinary WhatsApp messages consume relatively little data, frequent status updates, video sharing, group conversations and automatic media downloads could 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,” Ndukwe noted.
The MTN executive 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 risen by about 43 per cent year-on-year.
To reduce unnecessary consumption, Ndukwe advised subscribers to disable automatic downloads, lower video-streaming quality, activate data-saving features and track their usage through the MyMTN application.
Also speaking at the event, MTN Nigeria’s General Manager of IT Operations, David Ogunsola, said discrepancies between data usage displayed on smartphones and figures recorded by telecommunications networks could result from differences in measurement methods, background activities 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 differences in measurement and rounding could account for variations ranging from two per cent to approximately 12 per cent in some cases.
He explained that network technology influenced connection speed, while the quality of videos and application settings determined how much data subscribers 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 explained.
The Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, defended the cost of providing telecommunications services, citing the high expenses associated with supplying electricity and maintaining network infrastructure 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 telecommunications operators used equipment comparable to those deployed in Europe and the United States but faced higher operating expenses, particularly electricity costs.
He said MTN was stepping up efforts to educate subscribers on managing their internet usage and understanding their smartphone settings.
Similarly, the Northwest Sales Manager of Xiaomi Nigeria, Kevin Kojode, attributed unexpected data depletion to automatic software updates, cloud synchronisation, background applications and unrestricted hotspot connections.
“Today, users don’t just go online, they stay online,” Kojode said.
Using a one-gigabyte subscription as an example, Kojode explained that background updates, cloud backups and operating-system activities could consume data without subscribers consciously initiating downloads.
He advised users to restrict automatic updates to Wi-Fi connections, set data limits, monitor devices connected to their hotspots and lower video-streaming quality.
Kojode added that understanding smartphone data-monitoring features and controlling data sharing could help subscribers manage their internet subscriptions more effectively.
