MTN Ghana’s CEO, Stephen Blewett, has firmly rejected allegations that the telecom company steals customer data, a common accusation he’s encountered throughout his career.
Speaking to MyJoyOnline, a Ghanaian news portal, Blewett addressed recent concerns raised by MTN Nigeria customers, who accuse the telecom giant of unfairly depleting their data. MTN Nigeria, the country’s largest telecom provider with over 80 million users, has faced similar claims.
These accusations have prompted a surge of customer complaints in Nigeria, with many reaching out to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), urging them to investigate unexplained data consumption.
In response, MTN and other telecom operators have denied any intentional data theft, instead attributing the problem to factors like the transition from 3G and 4G to 5G networks and increased video streaming.
Addressing the issue at MTN’s headquarters in Accra, Blewett shared that accusations of data theft are nothing new to him. “I’ve heard ‘You’re stealing my data’ in every country I’ve worked not just at MTN,” he said, assuring customers, “I swear to God as my witness: we have no reason to steal your data.”
Blewett emphasized that there is no financial incentive for MTN to engage in such behavior. “If I steal data, I can’t report it—I’d lose my bonus,” he explained, pointing out that his compensation is based on reported revenue.
He clarified that the rapid depletion of data is a result of the enhanced capabilities of 5G networks, which enable higher-quality video streaming and services like YouTube to automatically switch to higher resolutions, leading to increased data usage.
To further assure customers, Blewett highlighted MTN’s commitment to transparency, citing the company’s independent auditing processes and an internal revenue assurance team that regularly monitors billing discrepancies. “We don’t want revenue leaks or incorrect billing,” he stressed.
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