Short Essay 16
By Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde
Dumping My Darling, MTN
I just returned from the Glo zonal office at Yakubu Gowon Way, Jos. I acquired a new glo line and went on to configure my Blackberry Internet Service on it, ending my long days with my darling, MTN. Make no mistake about it: This is a one man's declaration of war against the biggest telecommunications giants in Africa. And I will win it. Soon.
If you like your pocket, join me. Switch to another line, ETISALAT, AIRTEL, etc, even if temporarily, until MTN brings down its tariff. You will be saving thousands of Naira by the end of the month. May be as much as $2,000 or more annually. And you know what? You will not miss anything!
Do you need to be convinced? Come with me.
MTN's prepaid services are still going for about N36/min. My goodness! Forget about the gimmick of its lower rates for one or four special numbers special numbers - family and friends it calls them. My family is large, my friends many. Sorry MTN. Keep the offer.
Now, if you are like me, you grudgingly spend an average of N1,500.00 on a moody day. In a better mood, however, N3,000.00/day is really conservative enough to make me a professor of economics. In a month MTN makes a return of at least N45,000.00 from me - less than half of it legitimate; more than half, robbery.
You understand the racket as soon as you switch to another provider of equal competence, say Glo. The retention capacity of your pocket would double automatically. Glo 'infinity' - whatever that means - gives you a handsome prepaid package of N15.00/min at no extra cost, to any line, anywhere, anytime. Who said saving N21.00 in every minute I dial my phone will not make me richer suddenly? That is N875.00 daily or N26,500 monthly, if I abandon MTN. I have. That is more than a living cost of a family, a la Labour's minimum wage. Econet, sorry Airtel, is knocking on my door for even a better offer: N12/min. My readers operating on other cheaper careers can please help Nigerians in the comment space below with the tariffs they enjoy. I know glo could also be bad with their often horrible meter, something that MTN could hardly make a mistake about. I once dumped my 0807 for such theft by glo. But, honestly, Is MTN living on the moon? Think about it.
MTN will need to convince me why I should keep our friendship. Since the cheaper rates provided by other lines are blanket, allowing us to enjoy the same rate to any line, and they have now largely the same spread as MTN, the company should quickly realize that its days of monopoly are over. It either comes down from its high profiteering pedestal or we will push it under.
Perhaps sensing the trouble is why MTN is conducting surveys among its high user customers. I was at Mutala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, when this polite lady on 180 called me asking why my usage in June was lower than in previous months. I told her I have been away. If she calls again this time, I have a better answer for her: catch me on glo, madam.
MTN has been notorious in 'renditing' our pockets to its coffers pitilessly. I remember our plea to the career in those days to switch its meter from per minute to per second charge. It played the deaf and dumb game with Nigerians until mighty glo emancipated us. Glo hit the market with its per second charge from day one. In the beginning MTN was adamant and skeptical, but it did not take long before it caved in given the mass migration of customers to glo. I am a veteran of that war. And here I return. Old habits die hard. Do you remember how much we were buying its SIM card initially? Gosh. N18,000.00, just for the kids to remember, not knowing that it could sell it even for N200.00!. Who said old Shakespearean Shylock is dead?
The little concession I will give MTN is to leave my line open for incoming calls, just in case a fortune would visit me through that gate, though fortune hardly comes these days. That too has a moratorium. Three months only. I will only reconsider reviving my friendship with MTN only if it becomes more generous than glo and other carriers.
The next stage of my protest after the moratorium is to boycott those using MTN unless their call carries a big positive monetary value.
Therefore, it makes sense to join me in my protest if you are on MTN by switching to other cheaper networks. But it makes better sense for MTN to come down steadily by harmonizing its tariff with those of other careers before we collapse the telecom giant through the dictates of the free market.
Abuja
21 July 2011
48 comments:
Dr T, i feel u on this. I have an etisalat line now... MTN such a rip off
This is exactly what happens to me last week, remove MTN and put in glo in my blackberry subscription. Their network is terribly poor in katsina and d charges? Exorbitant. Chigaba Mallam we r following.
This is exactly what happens to me last week, remove MTN and put in glo in my blackberry subscription. Their network is terribly poor in katsina and d charges? Exorbitant. Chigaba Mallam we r following.
It is a statement of fact but can be easily misconstrued as a paid advert considering the way you went about it with vigour campaigning only for Glo. I am aware there are other neteworks with good packages comparable to Glo in d scale of economics. With regards to d quality of service I can't vouch for any network because they are all inefficient on d scale of real efficiency! I wil advise Aliyu Phd to garnish his essay a bit with names and services of other networks to make it balance and degrease it of the sticky attachment of Glo advert that is painted all over it. Reagrds.
Ibrahim Musa Idris, MBBS
Sen Registrar
Dept of Haematoloy AKTH, Kano.
I strongly agree with you. What perhaps you did not experience is extortion in the name of post paid. They refuse to allow you to opt out of the package in the name of updating their system. Having realised the protest from subscribers, MTN now gives credit limits....at a price of course. The charges are damn too high, and then at the end of the month you have to pay a hidden fee of N1,500 in the name of service charge even if you didnt use the line to make calls...inspite of the "wallahi tallahi" the operators will tell.
I have made a commitment to join my big bros in his crusade. NCC has allowed MTN to treat us with disdain such that when you subscribe to a particular package you cant exit as if it is divinely ordained. I am visiting them (MTN)next week to pay my bill with a threat of dropping the so called darling MTN. I have grudgingly bought an etisalat line and this has proved that I was wrong to have struck to MTN. Etisalat is cheap and of course with a wonderful BB services.
I know some friends that have even refused to pay their post paid bill (2 month running)because of the attitude of MTN and I will definately join them this month.
Thank you Tilde for bringing this issue to the lime light. Count me as one supported.
DOC you have said all i will do same as practice by u. pls keep on the good work. we are solidly with u in the clamour for change and concious nigeria
Dear Dr. Aliyu,
Thank you for this thoughtful posting for a war against MTN, first I had been nurturing to dump MTN but my contact business wise knows me with MTN and the slogan everywhere you go is another factor to consider. Alas, we have to fight for our right so I'm going with you and within the next 24 hrs we shall succeed in decamping most of our contacts who are on MTN to dump and go elsewhere, but for me I will choose Etisalat, that will help them grow like other since they are customer friendly morethan the big headed Glo who have no customer friendly staff. If There is no network provider in Nigeria but only Glo I would rather stay like i used to be before 2001.
Thank you for the wake up call.
Dr. This is Avery good one. I hope the telecoms giant will look into this and act quickly, I already thinking of discontinuing my Black Berry service with MTN.
ABUBAKAR
DR. WHY DID IT TAKE YOU SO LONG TO SWITCH FROM MTN NETWORK TO A MORE RELIABLE AND CHEAPER NETWORK? YOU KNOW THEY ARE VERY GOOD AT DECEIVING PUBLIC IN THEIR ADVERTS AND OTHER SOCIAL PROJECTS. IN OTHER WORDS, THEY HAVE BEEN ROBBING PETER TO PAY PAUL. MORE PEOPLE WILL SOON LEAVE THAT NETWORK. AT LEAST THIS WILL TEACH THEM LESSON TO IMPROVE ON THE QUALITY OF THE NETWORK AND REDUCE THEIR COSTLY TARIFF.
THANKS DR. FOR ENLIGHTENING PUBLIC.
i decided a long time ago to dump MTN i could not bear to see a company come here charge us unfairly and them trreat us rudely and our people with disdain, i choose glo immeediatly they came out and have never looked back
they do not care about the country and bring all their services from their country and treat ours with prejudice
i would rather give my money to a Nigerian then to a foriegner i tr ass much as possible not to call MTN numbers and have always refused to buy MTN cards for anyone
i welcome you but say why did it take you this long.
Dr. Tilde, I really share the same feelings with you....I already have an Etisalat Line.
BUT actually the way you protested by mentioning Glo only without including other networks with good or even better packages than it sounded somehow to me. I think MTN and even other networks not mentioned will think that your protest was sponsored. THE FACT REMAINS THAT MTN HAS TO SIT UP........
Okkkkkk. Hold your breath. Read the article again. I have advertised other networks and even invited you - the readers to publish in the comments here the rates you are enjoying from them.
Bashir Mohammed
Hi Dr Tilde,
I concur with Ibrahim on his observation that your write-up is more like a paid advert than a mere comment. reasons being that, 1. you said another network is knocking on your door for "even cheaper price" i am wondering therefore, why GLO? 2. you referred to Telocomm market as free which made you to move ahead! then why tell the world and in the process advertise a competitor to MTN? 3. In the end, you became more transparent/desperate by saying the next stage is to boycot calls from MTN lines even though that has no cost implications on you!
I believe the best way to check this exploitation is availability of competitors, thank God there are.I could not believe now in Malaysia celcom is the cheapest mobile network, after being the most expensive for few years.It is the competition that brought this.However, Dr I wonder why you said a lot about glo yet it appears not the least in terms of tariff.
I join train with Dr to tell every MTN user who value his hard earn Naira to go on exile. However their is a consistent hypocrisy by all the mobile operators in Nigeria hiding behind the guise of bonanza, or other promotional products to woo customers today and deal with them tomorrow. Next tomorrow the socialist-like Glo, Starcomms or Airtel of today might tend to be the greatest 'remote/wireless robbers' or chaets by September. That is why China is having a free day with its multiple SIM phones. That is why average Nigerians have close to a bundles of SIM. I am so conservative with my dear Airtel purchased in 2003 and that is where my alert such as banking transactions eventhough i live in UK (i come home often). My undesirable MTN is always in my wallet only recharged electronically twice in a year to keep it alive. MTN might turn out to be good in 2012, who knows? Lets pray to the gods of telecommunication to resuscitate NITEL-Did you say super story with the character GEJ in power?
It is sad that MTN has been milking its subscribers in Nigeria dry in their tariffs. Worst still the company is doing less in reverting back part of its profit to the society in which it operates.
The company is notorious for licking surface tanks that service their mast usually cited in residential areas. Fuel emitted from such tanks usually sink so deem that it is common to see well within the radius of 50 - 100 meters polluted. I know of at least three instances within my immediate neighborhood. All attempts to make mtn rectify the licking tanks fell in deaf ears.
May God save us from this tyrant called MTN.
MUHAMMAD LAWAL
Haba Dr.!u are only commending one single network, hv u thought of it's future?
It’s a pity that you are so engross and affectionate to MTN to the extent of calling her darling.
From day one I know MTN as a prostitute that can easily lure any feeble structure like Tilde’s.
The subscriber rapes both home and away without any remorse. Please Dr, ensure “ ka yi saki uku” else she will catch you back without even knowing.
U can't blame them. Its a reflection of how corrupt the society we live in is. Wait until they tell u how much they give out in brown envelopes to NCC and communications committee members in the national assembly every month. Those are the people that are meant to protect us from them. They are not like this in other countries including their base country, SA. Why is no one talking about unified number regime, a situation where u can change service provider and stil retain your number? Its working in Kenya already. I think we should channel our effort in getting the NCC to have them implement it here in this failed country calle Naija.
Of course if Airtel had good signal in my house in the village I would have gone for its N12/min offer to every Nigerian. What would have been a better way of saving my money?
Kudos to all of us who has discovered our rights to quality and cheap service,everybody in my office have dumped their mtn lines for other cheaper networks like etisalat,airtel and glo.
I look forward to the day,that Nigerians will equally rise up like this and demand good governance from our corrupt leaders.
Dr. Tilde is absolutely correct. I see no problem with the emphasis on Glo because that is perhaps the only other network he has tried. He is recounting his own experiences, and truly he suggested that there are other networks with better price deals than MTN. The most important thing, in my opinion, is the message he is putting across: MTN's exploitation of customers through outrageous charges. The import of his discourse is that MTN's charges are higher than other networks though customers may not readily realise that. This is called Consumerism, we all have the right to protest unfair treatment from producers and diplomats of goods and services. What's the point in suggesting his piece appears like a paid advert? Do you work for MTN?
Hmm, there was a time i traveled to Dubai, unknowingly, I decided to use my MTN line. Before I know it, when I received the first call from Nigeria, they out rightly charge me N200 and when I initiated the call they charged me N500 outright that's in addition to the cost of the number of minutes I used in talking....
MTN has already taken too much from Nigeria and it is time Nigerians encourage it to return to South Africa. We now have four other solid operators whose activities and prices are more customer- and pocket-friendly. From now onwards, I can only receive calls on my MTN line. Others should join this crusade, please. Enough is enough, they say.
Glad people are seeing the light. Next should be a facebook page. We'll hit the like button like no man's business.
I had a similar experience when I travelled to the U.S. last May. I loaded my prepaid MTN line with N18,000 airtime, thinking that it will last me the six days or so that I would be there. It worked on the first day on which I sent some few text messages. Then I made some few calls the following day. By the third day, the money was gone, forever and ever. I had to rush and acquire an AT&T whose bundle of $60 was to last me a month to any line in US and Canada. To call home it costs a dollar per minute maximum.
Oh Mighty MTN! Have mercy on our poor souls. We love you but it is our pockets you love.
Freedom Emancipation 4rm mtn, we left mtn since when it block the free browsing cheat , etisalat give us 15mb in every recharge of 200, glo cheap calls , atlest 200 can last a student 2 to 3 days. Kudos
Dr, since i discover etisalat efficiency,cheap browising rate and bonanzas i stick to it.I also discover that many of my friends call me with glo no.
Dr, why not rising up for the govt to bring back Nitel and Mtel to live so that all the monies taken to South Africa, India etc will stay here to boost our economy?ng rate and bonanzas i stick to it.I also discover that many of my friends call me with glo no.
Dr, why not rising up for the govt to bring back Nitel and Mtel to live so that all the monies taken to South Africa, India etc will stay here to boost our economy?
Though, am not presently in Naija, but i used to enjoy the overnight calls back then with MTN. I guess by now the entire country must have been painted yellow, i still think its going to be difficult to start painting it green.
I wonder how much Nigeria Naira worth of air time Glo gave Dr. Tilde to have stooped so low to the extent of making advertorial jingles in favor of Glo Nigeria at the detriment of MTN Nigeria. Tilde ought to have known that CORRUPTION at the Nigeria Communications Commissions NCC is to be blamed on MTN's long term looting of it's Nigerian customers but not it's South African customers. Our National Legistlators claims to be exercising their constitutional Oversight Functions on both the Telecom Regulators NCC and Telecom Operators such as the Devil called MTN. It's very much OK for Dr. Tilde & Co to castigate MTN but he must also castigate or even crucify both the NCC and National Legistlators. But of course Tilde is unmindful of the role of Legistlators and NCC, Hhmm Nigerians!! Yes! MTN is looting us their Nigerian customers dry but certainly MTN is doing it with the supports of NCC and Senate/House Committee on Communications. are aiding and abetting MTN. And the duo, will not maintains a blind eye on MTN's lootings of Nigerians for nothing. IBRAHIM ABDULRAHMAN.
Dr. Tilde with all due respect you do sound like you hands have just sign a promo campaign with Glo. So your protest seem dilluted, I can see not to me alone. But this is a free market economy and you are free to choose from the competition and I can see you have and already some other are knocking on your door, right? Nice going.
As for those talking about social responsibilities of MTN. Compared to others, you'll be disgraced if are to be faced with real fact and figures.
As for its tariffs, Dr. here I concur with you m'broh. Actually we can do with a lower tariff rates across all sectors of its services. But to dump my MTN for any other network, not in Naija. What I do is have another line which came in handy when I travelled to a village in Bauchi that had no MTN service but the other network I was subscribe to. So I made my calls nice and easy.
Out of every 10 line in 9ja, it seems like 5-6 are MTN, while the other networks share the rest. So I am not for that thank you.
FOR ME IT'S TRANSFORMATIONAL MASS EXODUS FROM MTN TO ETISALAT. WHY, CZ I SAVE AND ENJOY MORE THAN IN THE ADAMANT MTN. SUCH AS FREE MB'S,BONUSES,YOU &ME etc. I SAVE AND ENJOY MORE THAN IN THE ADAMANT MTN. SUCH AS FREE MB'S,BONUSES,YOU &ME etc.
I agree with u, but as for me I abandoned MTN and embraced Etisalat long ago, because the was a time I recharged with 200, and a call of less that 1 minute, when I attepted making a call some few hours latter, I was told that i do not have sufficient balance to make that call, I revisit my call and made sure I did make any call to warrant such, when I call their customer center, they admit that that I was right and the transaction would be reversed in 24 hour but up till now nothing happened. I letter made an attempt to remind them, but they refused picking my call. So that was when I started using my Etisalat, MUTANEN ARZIKI, (the good ones). So Dr. we are fully beside U in this fight, just to show them we know our rights, just like the saying goes, MAKAHO BAI SAN KANA GANIN SHI BA, SAI KA TABA SHI, ( a Blind man is not aware that he's being watched, until u touch him), kudos Dr. more ink to your pen.
Yes Dr. you are right, I decided to dump my MTN previously, but now I only using it for text to the same network because is 5 naira. Glo is my favourite network now, I call any network at the rate of 15 naira. MTN are capilist and merciless.
Zainab Magaji WROTE:
Dr. Tilde, I am also a victim of the MTN rip off who has been trying desperately to find the courage to migrate to another network. You have finally given it to me. I refused to update my Blackberry subscription after it expired on wednesday. I cant understand why MTN continues to hold us by the throat the way it does. When I first subscribed to their Blackberry service when it was N5000, something happened that made the subscribtion impossible after they had removed my N5000. You wont believe that when I asked for a refund of my money since the contract never even took off, I was told "sorry, but the money was remitted thru an automatic remittance service to the Blackberry network and MTN cant pay you back the money." I later went to their office to threaten them with Consumer Protection Council before they quickly denied making any such comments to me thru customer service and promptly refunded my money! I will get an etisalat BB subscription and dump this one. Thanks for giving me the courage. Almost Everyone I know has dumped their MTN sims for other networks. Thank you
E don tey wey i don leave MTN for receiver calls only. I generally recharge 100 naira montly on MTN and spend atleast 5000 on Airtel. Dr, am with all the way.
I wonder what takes you so long to realize this Dr cause i dumped them for over two years for Glo and now Etisalat. The good news is that i wasnt the only one, but almost all my family which is extended in nature. You can see the effect.
We dont care whether its a campaign for Glo or other networks because it is a fact stated.
Their days are coming to an end i guess, EXPLOITERS.
i quite agree wt you sir. MTN are not user friendly, but my problem is that when I switched to Glo for my BB service, my subsciption expired after two wks instead of one month on two successive occasions. when i contacted them, the Glo ppl told me that i've finished my data allocated for the month. so I now switched back to my MTN but only for BB service. all my calls are for Glo.
Thanks fr this all time important piece. The other name for MTN is Fraud. i discovered this long time ago. I was fooled for long by the network's coverage: it's simply the best or called it WORSE rip off/oppressive/overburdining network i ever see in all countries i visited.Coming from M'sia about a wk ago i promised to throw away the MTN sim at the ocean/lagos forest. i promise to load my new BB with my old glo. U inspired me. Tha's exactly what i'm gonna do.Dr, U've remained urself. welldone for us
Me again! At least Dr Tilde's write-up raises an argument that MTN is as good as a Virus to our pockets. Does any one need to castigate him as a new advertizer for Glo? I know my MTN line is permanently put in a wallet. Check your phone how many of your siblings and friends changed away from MTN to a new one recently. Try randomly to call 10 MTN nos (in your phone book) and you will hear 4-5 switched off. Be honest with yourselves the new nos would not be far away from Airtel, Glo or Etisalat.
Atleast my mum and 2 of my only brothers changed to Glo less than 2 weeks ago. I bet you also any 5 new nos that came as call are to inform you that 'this is my new no' Meaning what?. One need not be notorius with smartness or too academic to disagree that MTN is too exploitative today. But evrything is temporary in the mobile market in Nigeria. They may turn out to be the cheapest next week. Competatition is good!
You will never know how much MTN is ripping you off until u swicth to another carrier. I switched to etisalat recently and I regretted why I took so long to join them. I now make all my calls @ 20kobo per second, I receive 10 free minutes weekly (40 mins monthly) to call my wife (me & U). And here is the best part! I received N3,500 free credit to call any numbers in june from the promo the company did for all its subscribers. I love etisalat.
sorry I cant speak for glo or airtel.
I have been considering relegating mtn to the background because I noticed this reap off quite long ago;Only I felt business contacts knew me with its line.However I decided finally to make them inactive in siphoning my pocket when I noticed that my wife increasingly called me with her Etisalat line and preferring even to call most of the time on the my Glo Line instead of my mtn.She keeps her mtn line but hardly use it.I started by throwing away its G connectivity and going for Glo NetPro backed up by Starcomms connectivity.I am already cutting my usage of mtn line by 60% preferring to use my Glo and Etisalat lines and lo and behold my pocket is becoming more retentive of the bucks that were previously being wasted.I have saved 17k in just three weeks of this realignment.For me,it will get worst for mtn in the next week where I intend to make it a call receiving line only.The company itself is a reap off ala Ncc,and National Assembly.We have to save ourselves from them period.What have they done with the way Nigerians are treated in companies manned here by foreigners?Rubbish rhetoric s always.
I WAS USING MTN 4 LONG, FOUND THIS ETISALAT SO-CALLED 'HOME ZONE' ADVERT. THAT IF I MAKE CALL 'TO ANY NETWORK' WITHIN MY 'HOME ZONE' I'LL B CHARGED =N=12/MIN. THEY DECEIVED ME BY CHARGING ME N24/MIN EVEN TO ETISALAT LINES. NOW MY MTN 'TALK ON' IS EVEN BETTER. I LIKE GLO 'INFINITO' BUT 3 LINES ARE TOO MANY FOR AN UNDERGRADUATE LIKE ME.
I really find it funny that all the people who are complaining about MTN here, people who say they have since changed their lines to another network, but yet they keep complaining...
It tells you that the Dr is right when he says that MTN is his darling, and from the look of things, they are darlings of over 38 million other Nigerians.(including those who have since bought Glo/etisalat lines but keep complaining)
There must be something that they are doing that makes their subscriber figures to keep growing, despite complaints. I use an MTN line too, and I think the truth is something you really dont want to admit...
Nigerians Love MTN. It doesn't mean we love South Africa.(Besides, a journalist friend told me recently that 99% of MTN's staff are Nigerians anyway)
It just means Nigerians love the brand and everything it stands for.
To take your analogy further, it's more like having a beautiful girlfriend, or wife who is expensive to maintain, but gives you so much joy when things are all right. So while you may go to the other wives(Glo, Etisalat, Airtel),you really cant get over your first love, which is why you complain to everyone in the hopes she will lower her standards(or tariffs)
I also know that in this relationship with our girlfriends/wives/GSM lines, things are not what they seem, especially when your other jealous wives are offering you all these freebies to take you away from your first love.
You know this too, Dr Tilde. And I am sure that once your new wife(Glo) starts to misbehave, you'll probably go running back to your first love - MTN, whether they reduce tariffs or not.You have done so before, and you'll probably do so again.Its the Nigerian in us that makes us to follow freebies, whether they are Greek gifts or not.
As for me, I am sticking with MTN. Shikena.
yes we are with you...life and direct.i dont know what the regulators are doing about this non sense tarrif. i will soon abondon the line coz...the rip off.
Doc, I have for a long time ago, reluctant to switch to another network because I bought my MTN line at a very high rate, unlike as it is now, almost free. However, with this eye-opener and indeed others before yours, I am thinking of giving another network a trial.
I still holding unto my MTN line. I think we should rather advocating for cheaper rates, we begin a campaign that MTN, GLO, AIRTEL, ETISALAT etc should become PUBLIC LIABILITY COMPANIES (plcs) and their shares be offered to the Nigerian public, quoted and placed for trading in Stock Exchange. We could earn some dividends. In that case we become stake-holders (shareholders) and could determine the companies' policies.
As it is, they are LIMTED LIABILTY COMPANIES (LTDs) and all the profits, raking and slicing we complain of, go into few private hands and pockets. This is not good even advanced capitalist societies. They abhor monopoly. As it FOUR companies owned by less than FORTY individuals and their foreign partners corner billions of naira at our expense.
Miyetti.
This blog was posted in july 2011 but I couldn't see it till January2012 mainly because of MTN. I only discovered glo by accident and I couldn't believe that withN3000 I can afford to access my mails for so long.that amount doesn't last three days at the same rate I use my iPad.I am already thinking of how to transfer to glo on my handset.thank you for the confirmation.
Post a Comment