Nigerian Lives: 5 Remote Workers on Rising Data Costs

On February 11, 2025, MTN Nigeria sparked outrage by tripling the price of one of its most popular data plans—a staggering 200% increase. This move came after the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) approved a 50% tariff adjustment for telecom operators, a compromise from the originally proposed 100% hike, which the House of Representatives had intervened to reduce. 

On the same day, MTN rolled out its hike, the House of Representatives directed the NCC to suspend the increase until telecom companies resolved persistent network issues, citing concerns about worsening economic hardships. Despite that, the telecom companies went ahead, which drew sharp criticism from subscribers. On X, netizens slammed the company’s poor communication—delivered in broken English and lacking transparency—while other social media platforms erupted with frustration over the impact on monthly budgets.

For young Nigerians, especially remote workers, an affordable internet isn’t a luxury but a necessity. Culture Custodian spoke with five professionals about how these rising data costs are affecting their ability to work and earn in an already struggling economy.

Samuel, Product Designer

It’s been really inconvenient for me. Now, not only do I have to deal with a terrible network, I have to deal with expensive data as well. The fees are very ridiculous. I use both  Airtel and MTN  and I switch between them, which means I have to always pay for both. I am exhausted and I do not think I can keep up with the fees. I may as well subscribe to Starlink. 

Ash, Systems Engineer 

Personally, it has affected me badly because I usually have a budget for my monthly data, but now I don’t even know what plan to buy. I’ve spent twice my monthly plan in 2 weeks and the data finishes so so so fast. Left for me, I’ll just stop buying data, but I have an aptitude test tomorrow, so now I’m forced to borrow money from myself for data. The worst part is the network is too stupid for the increased tariff. I barely even have good network connection to do anything. I recently had to buy an MTN SIM  because of the bad network. So now I’m subscribing to both MTN and Airtel and both are expensive and useless. It’s crazy.

Nife, HR Specialist

I haven’t bought another plan since the increase, I use Airtel. But the network has been so terrible for the past two weeks. It’s really affecting my work. I had to go to my friend’s house last week to work because I don’t want to lose my job. I sent them multiple messages on Twitter saying that if I lose my job, they’ll find me another job. Because I work in HR, people need to reach me at different times during the day. It’s just against me, the data increase, the network, I think I’ll buy another SIM card but I heard Mtn is also bad so I’m not even sure how to solve my problem right now.

Fola, Forex Expert

It’s important to remember that most remote workers have calculated our running costs, and increasing the plans has ruined everything. They increased the plans but our salaries haven’t been increased, so this means we have to shift budgets and all that. Generally, we have to find a balance in the standard of living and some expenses will suffer, that’s inevitable. I don’t know the solutions to this, we’re all just tired.

Mary, Virtual Assistant

As a virtual assistant, I basically have to be online at every second. I just started recently so I don’t even earn much, I manage the little I have. And it was working for me till the data prices increased. Both MTN  and Airtel, at the same time. If I said I knew what to do, I would be lying. Apart from my work responsibilities, I also have courses that I’m taking online to better myself. So yes, it really impacts my work and even my personal life.