As the wireless world moves towards delivering more videos and becomes a center of communication, the demand and hunger for unlimited data from the carriers continue to rise. Every little thing we do these days on the networks demand some kind of data usage, be it large or little. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, cloud storage all require data. This is not made any easier with today data hungry devices, tablets and smartphones which are churned out in great quantity yearly. Therefore the need for an unlimited plan is everyone’s desire. But all carriers here in Nigeria won’t offer this plan. Then the question which arises is why are they refusing to offer this plan when their counterparts in America and Europe are able to offer this service? I believe it takes an understanding of how the service is provided to get to the answer.

There are three categories of data subscription that are really available the world over. Let’s all get to know them all.
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Truly unlimited: here the data limit is truly unlimited within the specified period and it is at maximum available speed. This is every subscriber’s dream plan in Nigeria and it will be a delight really having this plan offered by the operators in Nigeria.
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Capped or throttled unlimited: the operator operating this kind of subscription does not really offer a true unlimited data like the previous plan above. A typical example of a capped plan is the blackberry subscription plan offered by the operators in Nigeria. Subscribers are being told it is unlimited where truly it is limited with a ceiling of mostly 3GB of data. An example of a throttled data plan is the hourly plan offered by MTN in Nigeria. At the beginning the speed is maximum but upon reaching a certain data usage the speed is reduced drastically.
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Openly advertised data allowance: this is the most common data plan here in Nigeria. Here the subscriber knows from the onset what he is getting into. So based on his own consumption he knows which plan to choose.

Please it should be noted that these plans could be for handsets or mobile broadband data plans. Now looking at these plans, I believe everyone will jump at the truly unlimited data plan provided the price is reasonable. Judging by the way things are done in this part of the world I doubt if this plan is brought on board if it will be at reasonable price. The argument from the operators over this plan is that it will drastically put a lot of pressure on their cellular network. That is slowing down the network once a lot of heavy subscribers engage in heavy usage to the detriment of other users. If that is actually an issue then I believe this can be solved by an intensive infrastructure upgrade albeit capital intensive.

The openly advertised data allowance plan is the most popular plan here in this part. The operators really make a lot of money from this as many subscribers really don’t understand the MB or GB allocation in their plan. Most times they end up under buying and have to renew the plan again as it is not enough or buy plans they can’t maximize leading to underutilisation.

From reviews in Europe, the capped or throttled unlimited data plan is a win win situation for operators and subscribers. The reasons given are as follow:
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Subscribers have the benefit of having true unlimited data for a fee though there is a threshold where it gets throttled. But that threshold can be extended for a fee and the subscriber will still experience the same speed as at the beginning.
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The operators are able to manage the excesses of a truly unlimited data plan once the threshold is reached. All the operator needs do is to be transparent to the subscriber about the presence of the threshold.

At the end of it all, it will be a delight to have the introduction the truly unlimited and capped or throttled unlimited data (with transparency) in Nigeria. Subscribers want to be able to have a variety of plans they can choose from and value for their money.

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do i really have to read all of this? Someone give me the summary please

lol...typical black man

Uchiha Itachi: do i really have to read all of this? Someone give me the summary please

More questions, but it seems no answer is coming fort from the operators. Anyway, God dey shaa

Big.game:
Unlimited & affordable data plan is what we need, but what is the use of it, if we can't get stable & standard internet connection, E.g, What is the use of me subscribing for airtel's unlimited plan when my browsing speed is at 15kb/s(even at midnight)

Answer needed urgently

Well that is all we all are clamoring for.I get the part where you said your browsing speed is at 15 kb/s, really painful. But the truth of the matter is that it all rests in the hands of our government to enforce the operators to offer good quality service no matter the location of the subscriber. You won't believe that the operators we have here in this country, GLO apart(since it is indigenous), dare not offer shabby services in their mother country. And why is that? Because they are being given a standard and anything below that standard puts them out of operations with fines. That tells us that our government compromises a lot with standards for reasons best known to them.

Big.game:
Unlimited & affordable data plan is what we need, but what is the use of it, if we can't get stable & standard internet connection, E.g, What is the use of me subscribing for airtel's unlimited plan when my browsing speed is at 15kb/s(even at midnight)

Thanks for that comment, will sure summarize any subsequent article that is that long.

Uchiha Itachi: do i really have to read all of this? Someone give me the summary please