MTN engages Abuja consumers over data consumption complaints

By Mashe Umaru Gwamna

MTN Nigeria has engaged consumers in Abuja over complaints about data consumption, with the telecommunications company seeking to address concerns about its data services and explain factors driving usage.

Speaking at a forum tagged “Data on Trial” in Abuja on Monday, MTN Nigeria Chief Executive Officer and MTN Group Vice President for Francophone Africa, Karl Toriola, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to sustaining quality data services.

He said the forum was designed as a courtroom-style public engagement to provide consumers and key stakeholders with an opportunity to share experiences, ask questions and raise concerns about data usage.

The event featured journalists, social media influencers and consumer advocates as prosecutors, while senior MTN officials defended the company’s policies and responded to questions from participants.

Addressing concerns about the high cost of data, Toriola attributed some of the challenges to rising operating costs, particularly increases in diesel prices.

He also dismissed allegations that MTN deliberately depleted subscribers’ data, describing the perception that the company steals consumers’ data as a misunderstanding.

The company’s General Manager, Network Performance, Mike Nduka, identified the growing adoption of social media in Nigeria as one of the factors influencing data consumption.

Similarly, MTN sales representative Kevin Kojode said changing consumer behaviour had contributed to increased demand for data, noting that users now tend to remain connected to the internet rather than go online only when necessary.

He added that the growing demand for data had coincided with advances in smartphone technology, which had further influenced internet consumption patterns.

Kojode called for clearer data usage controls to enable subscribers to set limits on their consumption and receive notifications when their data allowances were exhausted.