The need for mobile networks can't be quantified in the world today because we need them for so many things. Network providers in Nigeria are doing a very big job because I remember clearly when business centers were the only places we could make calls. Cyber cafes were the only places we could access the internet, and life was completely different from what we have today.
A lot of times, whenever I think about the past—life without easy access to the internet—I just laugh because I didn't see all these improvements happening anytime soon. The network companies became the game changers, making life a lot easier for us.
It would do them a lot of good if they focused more on improving their services rather than just increasing their data bundle prices. The drastic increase wouldn't have meant anything to many Nigerians if their services improved as well, but it's not getting better.
Several times, I have had issues with network providers. One of those experiences was a time when I registered for an online course. Due to the time difference, the lecture time fell at night, and I felt it was even better because the network used to be smooth at that time, but unfortunately, I missed two nights consecutively due to network issues. My network kept breaking, and I always had to re-login, which left me frustrated. I had to give up on the network thing for two nights before MTN acted normal on the third day.
I have other experiences at the point of purchase which forced me to return the goods I purchased. There was a time I was left stranded at Oshodi, all because my network decided not to work. The worst part of all was that I don't use ATMs. I had to reach out to someone to help me send money directly to the POS shop so that I could take cash to continue my trip back home.
All these experiences prompted me to have all networks so that I could easily switch to anyone working perfectly, but to my surprise, there are days when everything would just go off at the same time. It has happened several times, especially when it rains; the four networks become useless, and I start asking if it's the same thing across the world because I don't understand why.
If asked a thousand times, my favorite of all the network providers would be MTN. They aren't the best, but their level of consistency is better than the other networks so far. I can confidently say that the moment MTN's network becomes unstable, other service providers are definitely not functioning, except you are on a stronger network.
Most of the time, when MTN's network disappears, simply restarting my phone can help me stay online, which is the opposite for others, most especially GLO.
They have disappointed me several times, and the reason why I still use them is just to download movies on Netflix since their plans are cheaper. It's not like the movies will download immediately; it can take hours, but it's fine since I won't see all the movies at once.
Network providers like MTN and others need to focus on improving their services to make life easier for Nigerians. Several times, their high charges and unstable networks have disappointed me, leaving me stranded or frustrated. I can confidently say it would do them a lot of good to take their services to a whole new level, because the drastic increase in data bundle prices is useless when networks is unstable.
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