MTN CEO Karl Toriola Urges Nigerians to Change Phone Settings to Save Data

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

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

He said telecom operators faced significant operating costs, including electricity, transportation and the infrastructure needed to maintain network sites across Nigeria. According to him, MTN spent about ₦4.05 trillion on power in the preceding year, highlighting the financial pressure involved in providing telecommunications services.

“Even within the context of data being perceived as more expensive in Nigeria, the UK is the example I was giving,” Toriola said. He added that electricity costs were higher in Nigeria than in the United Kingdom, while operators also had to provide power and transportation for network sites.

The MTN chief executive said Nigerian operators deployed technologies comparable to those used in Europe and the United States, including fourth-generation (4G) and fifth-generation (5G) networks. He said the “Data on Trial” initiative was designed to show consumers how their phone settings, application preferences and online activities affected their data usage.

The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Communications, Peter Akpatason, described the initiative as an opportunity to improve public understanding of data consumption and address misconceptions about the telecommunications industry. He said the demonstration showed subscribers how their data was being used and how they could prevent avoidable depletion. Akpatason also challenged the perception that Nigerian data prices were higher than those in other countries, while acknowledging the need for further investment to improve service quality.

MTN Nigeria’s General Manager of Network Performance and Quality Assurance, Mike Ndukwe, identified video streaming, social media use and automatic downloads as major causes of rapid data consumption. He said a 15-second TikTok video could use between two megabytes (MB) and 20MB, depending on its resolution, with high-definition content generally consuming more data than standard-definition video.

Ndukwe explained that 4G and 5G networks support higher-quality streaming, which can increase consumption when applications automatically select higher video resolutions. He also identified WhatsApp as a potential source of rapid data depletion because of automatic media downloads, status updates, videos shared in group chats and chat backups.

To reduce unnecessary usage, he advised subscribers to disable automatic media downloads, restrict background data and set applications to download large files only when connected to Wi-Fi. He also recommended activating data-saving features on social media platforms, reducing video resolution and disabling automatic video playback where possible.

Ndukwe said MTN provides tools, including the MyMTN app, that allow customers to monitor their data usage and receive alerts. He added that the company regularly educates subscribers on data-saving practices and offers MTN FiberX as an unlimited data option for customers with higher data needs, subject to applicable terms and conditions.

The discussion comes amid continuing concerns about the affordability of mobile internet in Nigeria, where subscribers depend on data for communication, education, business, entertainment and access to information. While changing phone settings can help reduce avoidable consumption, the savings depend on individual usage patterns and the applications being used.