Nigeria's exploitative mobile network providers

The mobile network operators in Nigeria are generally exploitative and their services below average. Voice and data tariffs are on the high side with the telecom operators preferring to waste money on promos instead of expanding their networks and making services more affordable for the generality of customers. 

My experience with the MTN network of recent has left me wondering whether they tweaked their meters in order to squeeze more money out of customers. It appears both credit and data get depleted at a faster rate than before.

The way MTN zaps data these days appears extraordinary. Yes, phone type, data use pattern, availability of good internet speed, etc affect data consumption. But, with all these factors taken into consideration, the contention that MTN data gets depleted faster these days appear to remain valid. The network is not data friendly at all. Many people already have the notion that MTN is notorious at fleecing customers under the guise of bonuses, promos, etc. If, the network introduces anything new, customers are advised to read between the lines before jumping on the bandwagon. With this type of reputation, it is not difficult to believe that something might be fishy about this issue of rapidly depleting data. 

In addition, for sometime now, this network has split the popular 1.5 GB and 3.5 GB monthly data subscription into two components. For the 1.5 GB subscription, you now have 1 GB as the actual subscription and 0.5 GB as a bonus usable only between 1 am and 7 am, only. It is 2.5 GB and 1 GB, respectively, for the 3.5 GB subscription. I see this split as a cunning method to force subscribers into carrying out more frequent subscriptions because most people end up forfeiting the bonuses. Why should I be doing vigil because of a bonus? 

Like some people, I am locked to MTN, not because it is a darling network, but because of lack of good signal reception for other networks in my area. MTN is the biggest network in terms of coverage and subscriber base. The other providers continue to spend billions on promos and advertisements and neglect the expansion of their infrastructure allowing MTN to maintain the lead over them. 

Have I got the option, Glo would be my network of choice for data subscription at home. I use it in my place of work. Although Glo scaled down its data offering some months ago, it is still way better that the highly exploitative MTN. For now, I remain at the mercy of MTN.