A sharp increase in telecom tariffs was necessary to keep Nigeria’s telecommunications industry afloat, according to the Chief Executive Officer of , Karl Toriola, who revealed that the company was facing severe financial difficulties before the adjustment was approved.
Speaking at MTN’s stakeholder engagement programme themed “Data on Trial” in Lagos, Toriola said the company had reached a point where it struggled to meet key operational obligations, warning that network services were at risk without an increase in tariffs.
The event, which adopted a courtroom-style debate format and was hosted by Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, brought together subscribers, regulators, content creators and industry stakeholders to discuss internet data usage, pricing and transparency.
Explaining the rationale behind the tariff review, Toriola said the telecommunications sector was on the brink of collapse.
“The tariff increase was implemented for one primary reason: to allow the industry to survive. At the point in time when the tariff increase was implemented, we practically could not pay our bills.”
He added:
“There was not enough money coming into MTN’s accounts to pay our bills for diesel, rent and software licences. We were effectively bankrupt. Without that tariff increase, we would have had to shut down the network.”
According to the MTN boss, the company was technically insolvent at the time, operating with negative equity and facing mounting financial pressures that threatened service delivery.
“Technically speaking, we were insolvent. We were in negative equity, for those who are financial people. So it was necessary for the industry first just to survive. It was really on the verge of breaking down. And then to allow us to continue to invest.”
Despite those challenges, Toriola disclosed that MTN invested about N900 billion in network expansion and maintenance in 2025 and plans to spend more than N1 trillion this year to strengthen infrastructure and improve service quality across the country.
“Last year, we invested N900bn. This year, we’re going to invest in excess of a trillion. We invest more in the expansion and maintenance of this company than we make in profits.”
He also attributed some network quality issues to factors beyond the company’s control, including vandalism, insecurity and disruptions at telecom facilities.
“We’re in a country where area boys will block us from network sites. We’re in a country where someone, for the heck of it, will light up a telecom manhole that will affect 30,000 subscribers, or base stations serving up to two million people.”
While acknowledging customers’ frustrations, Toriola maintained that MTN continues to deliver services that compare favourably with international standards.
“I still believe that I’m proud that we provide pretty much a global standard of service.”
Addressing concerns about data pricing, he argued that unlimited internet packages are not sustainable on a large scale because of network capacity limitations.
“We cannot give unlimited internet data to everyone, as much as we would desire it. We will not be able to build the networks that we will use in any way whatsoever.”
Toriola further insisted that, even after the tariff review, mobile data in Nigeria remains among the most affordable globally.
“Go and check in Kenya, go and check in Congo, go and check across the world, and tell me if you are not going to tell me that data in Nigeria is one of the cheapest in the world, even after the tariff increase.”
The company also used the forum to educate subscribers on how data is consumed. MTN’s Chief Customer Relations and Experience Officer, Ugonwa Nwonye, announced plans to launch personalised tools that will help customers monitor their data usage more effectively.
“We have built a data calculator. We have built a data dashboard personalised to our customers. And we’re going to make this available by the end of this month so that customers can also go to such places and look at how much data they’ve spent on different applications.”
She noted that video-streaming platforms, particularly , are among the biggest drivers of data consumption, while automatic backups, device settings and video quality preferences can also accelerate data usage.
MTN’s Chief Marketing Officer, Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka, said the initiative was designed to improve transparency and address recurring concerns about data depletion and expiration.
“The whole idea is to provide that clarity, the understanding, the transparency, and the behind-the-scenes of exactly what happens when we are in the process of using data.”
She added that MTN currently serves more than 87 million subscribers nationwide and intends to continue engaging customers on data usage and network services.
Among attendees was content creator Yemisi Odusanya, popularly known as Sisi Yemmie, who admitted she arrived at the event frustrated by what she perceived as rapid data depletion.
“I was very angry when I was coming. Because I’m like, we just subscribed, let’s say two days ago, and now it is expired.”
However, she said the explanations provided during the engagement changed her perspective.
“After the explanations, I was like, you know what, this actually makes sense. I’m going home to go and reconfigure everything.”
Other participants included content creators Peller and Jarvis, tech influencer Fisayo Fosudo, and legal content creator Timi Agbaje.