The Nigeria Communications Commission has released an advisory to consumers on how to best manage usage and providing answers to some of the most frequently asked questions.
The director of public affairs at NCC, Dr. Henry Nkemadu, said under the lockdown, consumers were using more data and also experiencing more challenges with data management.
He said, “As a result, the Commission has observed a surge in the number of complaints from consumers regarding Data Depletion and Poor Quality of Data services.
“In line with our (PIE) mandate of Protecting, Informing and Educating consumers, the Commission immediately investigated the complaints and ensured resolution as necessary.”
However, he said the NCC believed that it was necessary to empower consumers with information on data consumption and usage to enable them get better value from their data subscriptions and to get prompt redress where necessary.
To achieve these objectives, he said, NCC has developed a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) with regards to data consumption and usage.
On how to use data wisely and avoid wastage, NCC said there were number of things you can do to manage your mobile data usage so that it does not deplete quickly, but instead last longer. The following are examples:
● Disable mobile data when it is not needed
● Use data compression in your browser
● By reducing video streaming quality from video sites such as YouTube,
Netflix, Hulu, Showtime – you can use from 1080p or default/ auto setting to 240p for optimal viewing and lower data consumption.
This may however affect the quality of your experience.
● By deactivating all cloud storages except when / where necessary.
● By not breaking or interrupting downloads in-between video sessions.
● Turn off automatic updates for apps for mobile devices, laptops and personal computer.
● Use Wi-Fi hotspots wherever you can to save your mobile data – you should however note that there are data security risks to using open/free Wi-Fi connections.
Your passwords and personal data are often exposed on such connections.
● Limit sending and receiving files and push notifications
● Delete email messages that won’t send and are no longer required.
● Send big files when connected via Wi-Fi or use Wi-Fi for big files
● Monitor time spent on Social Media
● Closing apps when you’re done using them can also reduce data usage
● Set up usage alerts
On how to use phones to manage my data usage to avoid Data wastage the commission noted:
Your smartphone’s default settings are typically configured to get the best possible experience, which comes at the cost of your data usage. You can change those settings to manage your data usage in the following ways:
By Manually Capping Mobile Data: To do this;
Go to Settings > Network & Internet > Data Usage > Billing Cycle
By Manually setting Data Saver
Activate data saver: Locate “Data Usage” on your device and activate
“Data Saver”. This will help cut down your data usage by preventing apps from using data in the background. Disable auto-update on your App store
Disable multimedia auto-download on your social media apps Turn off your data when it’s not in use.
Stop Apps from automatically Synching: to do this;
Go to Setting > Apps & notifications > Select App > Select Disable Background Data
Don’t Stream it, Download It.
It is more advisable to download video or audio content to save data than to stream it online.
● Set data alert notifications on your mobile phone.
● Avoid multiple configuration of the same email address on your mobile phone. For instance, do not configure your Gmail address on your email app as well as Gmail app at the same time on the same mobile phone.
