MTN strengthens digital literacy among Nigerian subscribers

As the conversations about data depletion continue to wedge among Nigerian subscribers, MTN Nigeria is strengthening its internal mechanism to promote digital literacy and trust among telecom customers.

MTN Nigeria has reiterated its commitment to transparency and consumer education through ‘Data on Trial’ a first-of-its-kind public engagement platform designed to address consumer concerns about mobile data usage, billing transparency, and digital consumption.

“Data on Trial was created based on a simple belief. Trust, with our customer, grows when they are given access to the information and they are allowed to make up their mind about it,” Karl Toriola, CEO, MTN Nigeria, said.

He underscored the growing importance of data in today’s digital economy and the importance of trust and greater understanding of how modern technologies drive data consumption. According to him, the initiative behind ‘data on trial’ is critical because the economy is more digitally driven.

“Today’s event is an opportunity for everyone to understand the facts, understand the technology behind what delivers technology in real time. And to ask the most difficult questions and hear different perspectives,” Toriola said.

With data on trial, which opens the telco’s systems, processes, and explanations about data consumption and digital experiences to public scrutiny, MTN is hoping to deepen consumer understanding around data consumption.

“Data is very important today, and as technology evolves, the quantity of data consumed also evolves. The applications we use, the quality of content we consume, and the increasing number of connected devices all contribute to higher data usage. It is therefore important that consumers understand what drives their data consumption and how it is measured,” Toriola said.

Data on trial brought together consumers, media professionals, content creators, technology experts, and independent auditors for an open examination of how data is measured, consumed, and billed across MTN’s network.

Throughout the initiative, MTN’s technical experts responded to questions frequently raised by consumers, including concerns around data depletion, billing accuracy, background application activity, automatic updates, cloud synchronisation, video streaming, and multi-device connectivity.

To provide independent assurance on the integrity of its billing systems, KPMG conducted an independent verification of its Data Usage Portal. The review assessed whether customer billing accurately reflected actual data consumption and covered records from April 1, 2026, to date.

“Our analysis captures perfect alignment with what is on the Data Usage Portal and what is charged to customers,” Collins Onah, representing KPMG, said while presenting the findings by the auditors.

According to Onah, KPMG’s review examined the processes used to capture customer data consumption and reconcile those records with the corresponding charges applied to subscriber accounts. “The Data Usage Portal accurately reflects customer data consumption, and the associated billing is consistent with the usage records captured on the platform.”