The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has reaffirmed its commitment to creating a telecom environment that is fair, competitive, inclusive, and consumer friendly. The commission also listed measures for effective data management and cost reduction for clients.
By Emma Ogbuehi
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has reaffirmed its commitment to creating a telecom environment that is fair, competitive, inclusive, and consumer friendly. The commission also listed measures for effective data management and cost reduction for clients.
These were parts of the tips by officials of the Commission were at the Magaji Dan-Yamusa Permanent Orientation Camp of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Keffi, Nasarawa State on August 7, 2025. On the same day, the NCC was represented by its officials at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp in Paiko, Niger State, essentially to sensitise corps members on telecom issues.
Aside from the sensitisation, the Commission also engaged the corps members in quiz competitions on the two camps, with winners of the quiz questions carting away gift items such as Powerbanks, airtime and data subscriptions.
Also, to the two camps, the Commission donated three bags of rice (50kg) and three 25liters of vegetable Cooking oil, each in Nasarawa and Niger states. The NYSC State Coordinator in Nassarawa, Hajiya Salamatu Mohammed and NYSC State Coordinator in Niger State, Mrs. Martina Shuaibu-Ibrahim received the support items from the officials of the Commission.
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In her speech at the occasion, the Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau of the Commission, Mrs. Freda Ruth Bruce-Bennett, lauded the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) for its dedication to national unity, capacity development, and social cohesion, stressing that the mission of the NYSC and that of the NCC align in many ways as both institutions are focused on nation-building, inclusive growth, and creating platforms where every Nigerian can thrive.
She added that the sensitization exercise was part of the NCC’s strategic consumer outreach, and the theme, “Consumer Sensitization on Data Depletion: The Role of National Youth Service Corps Members,” The theme of the sensitization, she said, was quite germane following increasing number of complaints received on data issues. “The issue of data depletion continues to resonate and draws concerns amongst consumers in view of some developments in the Nigeria communication industry”, Bruce-Bennett said.
The NCC Director disclosed that the number of internet subscriptions has grown from 105m in August 2018 to 142m in January 2025. (Current Industry Statistics, www.ncc.gov.ng). The growth, she said, is fueled by the increasing popularity and usage of social media, other online content, and the wider availability of data networks. The rapid advancements in technology, she said, have led to new features on smartphones that many consumers may not fully understand. This knowledge gap often results in unintentionally high data consumption, which can frustrate users and erode trust, Mrs. Bruce-Bennett stated. She listed factors that can lead to excessive data usage to include: Streaming Activities: Video and music streaming apps like Netflix, YouTube, and Spotify use large amounts of data; Social media: High-resolution images and videos on platforms like Instagram, Facebook (Meta), and Twitter (X) can quickly use up data; App Updates & Automatic Updates: Apps consume data in the background without being active, and use significant amounts of data, while automatic app updates can spike data usage; Location Services: Continuous use of GPS and navigation apps can lead to increased data usage; Hotspot Usage: Sharing your phone’s data connection with other devices or users can quickly use up your data allowance; Roaming: Using data while traveling abroad can lead to excessive data usage due to higher roaming charges; Browsing Habits: Frequent visits to data-intensive websites like those with videos or high-resolution images can use up data quickly.
For effective data control, Bruce-Bennett recommended; Monitoring data usage: Regularly checking data usage using built-in trackers or third-party apps; Using Wi-Fi: Connecting to Wi-Fi whenever possible to conserve cellular data; Turning off Automatic Updates: Disabling automatic updates for apps and software; update manually when on Wi-Fi, among others.
These efforts, she said, are directly tied to the broader goal of promoting effective Data management to ensure that telecom subscribers are equipped with the knowledge of how to monitor, control, and optimize the usage of their mobile data bundle allowance, be it daily, weekly, or monthly plans.
