MTN to launch data tracking portal for subscribers by end of June

Leading telecoms operator MTN Nigeria has revealed plans to launch a data usage platform towards the end of June 2026. The move is an attempt to allow customers to track their data usage for a particular period.

According to the information revealed during the operator’s ‘Data on Trial’ event on Saturday, the development seeks to respond to ongoing complaints about data depletion and how data is used for a particular period. The basis of the event was also to provide more clarity on these allegations. 

When live, the ‘Data Usage Platform’ will allow customers to see how much data they used for a particular period and a hierarchical list of apps that consumed data during the specific period. In addition, the portal also takes account of data used via hotspot sharing and wifi connections during the filtered period. 

Providing more context, Ugonwa Nwoye, MTN Nigeria’s Chief Customer Relations & Experience Officer, explained that the portal will answer subscribers’ questions, such as where they spent their data, the streaming quality they use, the streaming rate, and the total data used during that period. 

“This data portal will be live by the end of this month (June) on our network. We will keep on promoting it, taking feedback from you about how we can make it easier for you to use.”

“We show you that the more you use, of course, the more your monthly estimate is going to be. We also wanted to invite anybody brave enough to give us your phone number so that we can build this portal,” she said. 

At the event, the platform was put to test with different phone numbers. A particular revelation was the use of Bar. Timi Agbaje’s phone number (Lead counsel for the prosecutor’s team) shows that Firebase, an unseen background software built into most social media apps, consumed most of his data. 

Nwoye stressed that MTN is taking time to perfect the platform and run several tests, and by the end of June, the app will be made available to subscribers. 

Also Read: Voice and data usage drives telecoms’ N4.7trn contribution to Nigeria’s real GDP in Q1’26.

MTN data calculator 

With the post-COVID era comes the massive shift in technology, pushing most services online. It came with remote work, massive internet penetration and smartphone adoption. Now in 2026, Nigeria has grown in social media usage, with a surge in monthly data usage and internet subscribers.

At the central drive of this is data, in the form of mobile data or broadband data, making claims of data depletion a term every subscriber relates to on a daily basis. This forms the wide demand for transparency in data usage and how MTN bills this service.

“Consistently, the discussion in our industry has been around how our data is, how users’ data is being consumed. Specific concerns about how quickly it drains and what consumes data,” said Karl Toriola, MTN Nigeria CEO, during his opening remarks at the event. 

However, in its motive to shed more light on data to build customers’ trust, MTN also admonished users to make use of its data calculator available on its website. 

MTN data calculator helps subscribers estimate their daily or monthly internet consumption based on their specific online activities, such as streaming video, browsing social media, and gaming. It gives users an overview of what their data usage will look like based on their selected usage pattern. 

Aside from the data calculator, MTN subscribers can receive a daily account of their data usage by dialling *312*500# to opt in.