While most Nigerians expressed dissatisfaction with the telecom tariff increase of 2025, the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, revealed over the weekend that the price adjustment averted a potential collapse of the country's telecommunications sector. Toriola made this disclosure in Lagos during "Data on Trial," a public hearing addressing nationwide complaints about rapid data depletion.
The event, which featured a unique format where mobile users formed a prosecution team and the telecom giant served as the defense, involved hours of intense debate and dialogue. MTN set aside its corporate demeanor and directly faced the public in a courtroom-style setting. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) had approved a tariff hike in January 2025, which major network operators implemented the following February, allowing a 50 percent increase. Along with the hike, the NCC mandated improvements in overall quality of service (QoS). However, many citizens have complained that service providers have made little effort to enhance network quality and have accused them of unfairly depleting customers' data.
Technical Responses and Independent Verification
Throughout the event, MTN's technical team addressed common consumer questions, including concerns about data depletion, billing accuracy, background application activity, automatic updates, cloud synchronization, video streaming, and multi-device connectivity. To provide independent assurance on billing integrity, KPMG conducted a verification of MTN's data usage portal. The review assessed whether customer billing accurately reflected actual data consumption, covering records from April 1, 2026.
Challenges in the Operating Environment
Toriola explained that the operating environment remains a major challenge for network providers. He noted that while Nigerians desire a perfect mobile network, telecom companies cannot operate outside the country's realities. "We are in a country where area boys block us from refueling a site, and that site may go offline for two days. We are in a country where someone can set a manhole on fire, affecting 30,000 subscribers, or damage a base station, impacting three million people. That is the nature of the security and infrastructure challenges we face. And these incidents happen from time to time," he said. He added, "In the context of the operating environment we are in, I am proud that we provide a global standard of service. I use mobile networks in the U.S., and they are not as good as ours."
Necessity of Tariff Increase
Regarding the tariff increase, Toriola stated: "The tariff increase was implemented to allow the industry to survive. At one point, we practically could not pay our bills and were on the verge of shutting down sites. There was not enough money coming into MTN's account to pay for diesel, rentals, and other operational costs. We were effectively bankrupt. Without the tariff increase, we would have shut down the network." He highlighted MTN's significant investments, saying, "We invested over N900 billion last year; we will invest over N1 trillion this year. We spend more on expansion and maintenance than we make in profit every year, and this is a continuous investment. It was necessary for the industry first to survive and then continue to invest."
Data Depletion Clarifications
On data depletion, Toriola explained that even MTN staff sometimes misunderstand data consumption. "One of our staff members had 156GB of data on her WhatsApp, which she backed up every night, yet she questioned how her data disappeared." He also addressed unlimited data plans: "On the issue of unlimited data on mobile networks, it does not exist anywhere in the world unless you are paying about $400 monthly. There is always a limit because you can never build enough capacity for everyone to be on unlimited data bundles while still providing decent-quality service. It doesn't work that way. As much as we would like to offer unlimited data, we would not be able to build a network capable of supporting it effectively."
Stakeholder Reactions
Speaking with The Guardian, Nigerian lawyer Timi Agbaje, who led the consumers' team, said: "My expectations were met. My first goal in attending the programme was to see transparency and accountability. I am glad that MTN opened this platform to stakeholders and consumers. I also like the fact that they explained how data is used and what consumers can do to better manage their data usage." Additionally, the Chief Customer Relations and Experience Officer (CCREO), Ugonwa Nwoye, commented: "The prosecution team was stellar. Those on the defense team also represented customers because that is what they do every day. They hold us accountable, and we are learning every day."
