MTN Nigeria has engaged subscribers, consumer advocates and industry stakeholders in Abuja to address concerns over rapid data depletion and improve public understanding of how mobile data is consumed.
The engagement, tagged “Data on Trial,” was held on Monday night in a courtroom-style setting, bringing together consumers and senior executives of the telecommunications company to examine complaints about data disappearing faster than expected.
Speaking at the forum, MTN Nigeria Chief Executive Officer and MTN Group Vice President for Francophone Africa, Karl Toriola, said the initiative was part of the company’s efforts to educate subscribers on data usage, device management and ways to obtain better value from their subscriptions.
Toriola said concerns about unexplained data depletion required greater transparency, consumer education and constructive engagement rather than relying solely on public sentiment.
He said MTN was committed to listening to customers, addressing their concerns and explaining how data consumption works across telecommunications services.
“One thing I will give our management team and MTN credit for is the courage to stand up, to be interrogated, to be vulnerable, and to listen to customers,” he said.
According to him, the engagement was designed to build trust and improve transparency between the company and its subscribers.
“This process is about building trust, it’s about building knowledge, and it’s about building transparency about what goes on in our industry and the life-critical services that we provide to you, our consumers,” Toriola added.
Also speaking, MTN’s General Manager, Network Performance and Quality Assurance, Mike Ndukwe, identified high-resolution video streaming and automatic playback features on digital platforms as some of the activities that can accelerate mobile data consumption.
He explained that video quality settings and network technologies, including 4G and 5G, could influence the volume of data used when subscribers access online content.
Ndukwe said watching a 15-second TikTok video in standard definition could consume about two to three megabytes of data, while viewing the same video in high definition could use as much as 15 megabytes.
He added that autoplay features on many applications could further increase consumption by automatically loading subsequent videos while users continue browsing.
According to him, subscribers who are unaware of these settings may experience faster data depletion, particularly when streaming high-quality content over 4G and 5G networks.
The forum forms part of MTN’s engagement with consumers over persistent concerns about data usage, with the company seeking to improve subscribers’ understanding of the factors that determine how quickly their data bundles are exhausted.
