MTN Nigeria has attributed the rapid depletion of internet data bundles to high-resolution video streaming, automatic downloads, background applications and cloud backups, rejecting allegations that telecommunications operators deliberately deduct subscribers’ data.
The company said smartphone settings and applications that continue running in the background can consume significant amounts of data even when users are not actively browsing.
Speaking at a forum tagged “Data on Trial” in Abuja on Monday, on the sidelines of the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit, MTN Nigeria’s General Manager of Network Performance, Mike Ndukwe, said data consumption largely depends on users’ online activities 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.
He explained that applications such as TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and WhatsApp consume varying amounts of data depending on video quality, automatic playback and download settings.
According to Ndukwe, watching a 15-second TikTok video could consume between two and 20 megabytes, depending on its quality, while high-definition streaming generally uses significantly more data than standard-definition viewing.
He added that although ordinary WhatsApp messages consume relatively little data, status updates, videos, group conversations and automatic media downloads can deplete subscriptions faster than users expect.
“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 said.
Ndukwe disclosed that WhatsApp had approximately 45 million users in Nigeria, while TikTok remained one of the platforms generating substantial data traffic. He also cited figures indicating that data consumption had increased by approximately 43 per cent year-on-year.
The MTN executive advised subscribers to disable automatic downloads, lower streaming resolution, activate data-saving features and monitor their usage through the MyMTN application.
Reasons For Discrepancies in Data Depletion Figures
MTN Nigeria’s General Manager of IT Operations, David Ogunsola, said discrepancies between the data consumption displayed on smartphones and the amount recorded by telecommunications networks could result from differences in measurement methods, background traffic and the timing of data sessions.
“The data that you measure on your devices is slightly different from what traverses over the network and what’s on the charge,” Ogunsola said.
He stated that differences in measurement and rounding could produce variations ranging from two per cent to approximately 12 per cent in some circumstances.
Ogunsola also explained that network technology primarily determines connection speed, while application settings and video quality influence how much data users consume.
“The network type that you are on, whether it’s 3G or 4G, just like Mike also explained earlier, would determine not how much data you use, but how fast you’re able to do what it is that you want to do,” he said.
