Key Takeaways
- MTN Nigeria denied allegations that it deliberately deducts customers’ data, attributing rapid exhaustion to smartphone settings, application activity and internet use.
- MTN Nigeria’s General Manager of Network Performance, Mike Ndukwe, said high-resolution streaming, automatic downloads, background applications and cloud backups can quickly exhaust data bundles.
- Ndukwe advised subscribers to disable automatic downloads, lower streaming resolution, activate data-saving features and monitor consumption to control their data usage.
Telecommunications company, MTN Nigeria, has denied allegations that the organization steals the data of its consumers.
Explaining why many consumers get to have their data exhausted fast, MTN Nigeria’s General Manager of Network Performance, Mike Ndukwe, attributed it to high-resolution video streaming, automatic downloads, background applications, cloud backups and increased internet activity.
According to him, many subscribers unknowingly consume substantial amounts of data through smartphone settings and applications that continue operating even when users are not actively browsing.
Naija News reports that the MTN official spoke on Monday in Abuja on the sidelines of the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit.
He dismissed allegations that the company intentionally deduct customers’ data.
“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 advised customers to optimize the settings on their phones to ensure they are always in charge of their data usage.
He explained that while it is generally accepted that WhatsApp messages consume minimal data, other activities such as status updates, videos, group messages and automatic media downloads could exhaust subscriptions faster than users anticipated.
The official added that applications such as TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and WhatsApp consume varying amounts of data depending on video resolution, automatic playback and the frequency of downloads.
“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 said.
