The Nigerian Communications Commission has disclosed that the problem of data depletion being experienced by telecom subscribers is caused by many factors.
The commission stated they can be technical and non-technical.
Engr. Edoyemi Ogoh, the commission’s director of technical standards and network integrity, gave the explanation during the 91st Telecoms Consumer Parliament which was organized by the commission.
Engr. Ogoh said most browsers play videos by default without the knowledge of the user.
He also said the automatic updates of apps and uploads of files to the cloud are some of the factors that drain data without the user’s knowledge. Other factors that cause the depletion of data include; the internet speed of 4G consumes more data.
The non-technical factors that deplete data are the low purchasing power of subscribers which makes them subscribe to low data bundles that get exhausted faster, lack of consumer awareness and education, use of substandard or fake subscriber services, online ads, and default activations of audio-visual in web browsers and apps are some of the non-technical factors mentioned by Ogoh as the causes of depletion of data.
“It is therefore important that we completely appreciate and understand the issues surrounding data depletion, it’s usage and consumption in the era of 4G technology before we fully commence 5G usage. It is against this backdrop that the Commission invited key industry players today to dialogue on the theme” the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, said reiterating all that needs to be done to curb data depletion.
Data depletion happens when a subscriber exhausts his/her data bundle before the expiry data