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MTN Nigeria has explained that the rapid depletion of subscribers’ internet data is driven by high-resolution video streaming, automatic downloads, background applications, cloud backups, and increased internet activity, dismissing allegations that telecom operators deliberately deduct customers’ data.
MTN Nigeria’s General Manager of Network Performance, Mike Ndukwe, said data consumption is largely determined by user activity and device 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,” Ndukwe said this at a forum tagged “Data on Trial” in Abuja on Monday, on the sidelines of the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit.
He explained that apps like TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and WhatsApp consume varying amounts of data depending on video resolution and auto-play settings.
A 15-second TikTok video, he noted, could consume between two and 20 megabytes, while high-definition streaming requires substantially more data than standard-definition viewing.
Ndukwe added that WhatsApp messages generally use minimal data, but status updates, videos, group messages, and automatic media downloads can exhaust subscriptions faster than users anticipate.
“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 noted.
He disclosed that data consumption has increased by approximately 43 percent year-on-year, with WhatsApp having about 45 million users in Nigeria.
