MTN CEO Reveals Why Your Data Finishes Fast

MTN Nigeria’s Chief Executive Officer, Karl Toriola, has urged Nigerians to adjust their mobile phone settings and online habits to reduce data consumption, as he highlighted the high cost of operating telecommunications infrastructure in the country.

Toriola made the call on Monday in Abuja at MTN Nigeria’s “Data on Trial” experience, an initiative designed to address public concerns about data consumption, pricing and the rapid depletion of mobile data bundles.

He said telecommunications operators faced significant operational expenses, including the cost of electricity, transportation and infrastructure needed to maintain network sites across the country.

According to Toriola, MTN spent about ₦4.05 trillion on power in the preceding year, underscoring the financial pressures associated with providing telecommunications services in Nigeria.

“Even within the context of data being perceived as more expensive in Nigeria, the UK is the example I was giving,” he said.

Toriola explained that operators in Nigeria had to provide electricity and transportation to their network sites, unlike markets where infrastructure and operating conditions could be different. “The cost of electricity, for instance, is higher here than in the UK,” he added.

The MTN chief executive also said Nigerian telecommunications operators deployed technologies comparable to those used in Europe and the United States, including fourth-generation (4G) and fifth-generation (5G) networks.

He explained that the “Data on Trial” initiative was designed to help consumers understand how phone settings, application preferences and online activities affected their data consumption.

The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Communications, Peter Akpatason, described the initiative as an opportunity to improve public understanding of data usage and address misconceptions about the telecommunications industry.

He also challenged the perception that data prices in Nigeria were higher than in other countries, while acknowledging the significant investments required to sustain telecommunications services.

However, the lawmaker noted that further investment was still needed to improve service quality across the sector.

MTN Nigeria’s General Manager of Network Performance and Quality Assurance, Mike Ndukwe, identified video streaming, social media activity and automatic downloads as major contributors to rapid data consumption.

He explained that viewing a video on TikTok could consume relatively little data at first, but continuously streaming or downloading videos could significantly increase usage, depending on their resolution and duration.

According to Ndukwe, a 15-second TikTok video could consume between two megabytes (MB) and 20MB, depending on its resolution. High-definition videos generally consume more data than standard-definition content.

He noted that 4G and 5G networks support higher-quality video streaming, which can increase data consumption when applications automatically select higher resolutions.

WhatsApp was also identified as a potential source of rapid data depletion because of automatic media downloads, status updates, videos shared in group chats and chat backups.

He also recommended activating data-saving features on TikTok and other social media platforms, reducing video resolution and disabling automatic video playback where possible.

According to him, MTN provides tools, including the MyMTN app, that allow customers to monitor their data usage and receive alerts.

While adjusting phone settings may help users reduce avoidable consumption, the effectiveness of such measures depends on individual usage patterns and the applications they rely on.

For consumers struggling with rising internet expenses, the challenge remains balancing affordable access with the growing demand for video content, digital services and reliable connectivity.

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