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Posted By Udokabestluv On June 5th, 2026

SENIOR executives of telecom firm, MTN addressed burning consumer complaints regarding persistent network disruptions, high investment costs, and the controversial phenomenon of “data disappearance” during a passionate stakeholder forum, tagged: “Data on Trial”, Saturday in Lagos.

MTN, while assuring service improvement, increased investment of N1 trillion for 2026, it however, stated that no operator can guarantee 100 per cent network quality.

The panel, which included Chief Executive Officer, Karl Toriola; Chief Technical Officer, Yayaha Ibrahim, and Chief Customer Relations Officer, Ugonwa Nwoye, among others, provided transparency into the operational hurdles of running a massive network in Nigeria while addressing consumers’ critical feedback.

Responding to a journalist’s grievances over degraded network services despite recent 50 per cent tariff increases, MTN’s CTO, Ibrahim, apologised for the poor user experiences.

Ibrahim emphasised that while customer experience remains the company’s highest priority, absolute network perfection is a constant battle against environmental variables.

“We have to keep upgrading the network. We have to keep investing as people use the network,” he stated. “We need to continue to upgrade both the radio and the transmission.”

The CTO highlighted that MTN actively tracks its Quality of Service (QoS) using sophisticated internal tools to map failures.

However, he noted that many disruptions stemmed from local infrastructure damages that severely fracture broad local government areas when “hub sites” are impacted.

Addressing the dominant user complaint about data bundles expiring prematurely, Nwonye on her part, announced that MTN is finalizing a highly transparent “self-service data usage portal.”

Scheduled to launch on the MTN app by the end of the month, she said the tool acts like a “black box” decoder, specifically helping users track how background data is spent across devices and routers.

On his part, the CEO, Toriola contextualized the data drainage issue by revealing that even highly placed telecom executives frequently fall victim to automated phone settings.

Toriola, who disclosed that MTN spent N900 billion on network expansion in 2025, disclosed that in 2026, the firm will spend N1 trillion, shared an anecdote about an MTN Chief Officer, who was shocked by high data consumption, only to discover their WhatsApp was configured to automatically run a 126GB to 156GB data backup nightly.

According to him, no network operator can guarantee 100 per cent telephone service, especially in Nigeria with various environmental challenges, including vandalism, theft of infrastructure, multiple regulations, among others.

Another general manager, according to the CEO, faced similar issues until realizing her children were streaming high-definition YouTube videos 24/7 on a home router.

Toriola and the panel vigorously defended how modern network speeds inherently accelerate data usage. Using a clear analogy, Toriola compared basic network connections to a small car and advanced 5G networks to a high-powered V8 engine traveling across the Third Mainland Bridge.

While both vehicles cover the exact same 10-kilometer distance, the V8 engine consumes significantly more fuel due to its capacity and speed.

Similarly, high-speed technologies like 4G and 5G automatically prompt applications like YouTube or Netflix to stream at maximum resolution (such as 4K or 8K) rather than standard definition, resulting in exponentially higher data consumption within shorter periods.
The executive leadership implored Nigerians to recognize the difficult terrain in which telecom companies operate.

He recalled a recent incident in Lagos where an entire zone suddenly lost service after an individual set fire to a waste dump inside a critical telecom manhole.

Toriola reiterated that community policing of infrastructure is vital, as third-party road construction workers frequently sever critical fiber optic cables, instantly disconnecting thousands of subscribers.

Concluding the forum, Toriola defended the economic necessity of the industry’s survival tactics. He revealed that before recent pricing changes, MTN was functionally facing severe insolvency challenges, struggling to cover basic operational invoices for diesel, site rentals, and software licenses.

Even with data price adjustments, Toriola insisted that independent metrics consistently rank Nigeria’s data tariff structures among the top four cheapest worldwide.

While mobile networks cannot support “unlimited data” due to physical spectrum capacity limits, MTN pledged to continue expanding its fixed FiberX infrastructure across Nigerian homes to provide true unlimited data options.

Source: https://guardian.ng/business-services/mtn-commits-n1tr-to-network-upgrade-claims-100-service-unrealistic/