By Ghazali Ibrahim
Airtel Nigeria, one of the leading telecommunications providers in the country, has announced a major increase in its data prices, which has sparked widespread outrage and frustration among its subscribers.
The price adjustment, now visible on the company’s website and confirmed via the *312# code, comes amidst rising operational costs and challenging economic conditions.
The newly updated data bundles have left many subscribers upset, with the changes reflecting steep increases across various daily, weekly, and monthly plans.
The cost of daily plans has seen a noticeable hike, with 40MB now priced at N50 (up from N30) and 1GB now costing N350 for a single day.
Weekly and monthly plans have also been impacted, with a 3GB package now priced at N2,000—up from N1,200 for 1.5GB—while the 25GB plan now costs N8,000, replacing the previous 18GB at N5,000. In addition to these data price hikes, Airtel has raised its call rates from 18 kobo per second to 25 kobo per second.
The price changes have led to a wave of criticism across social media platforms, with customers expressing their dismay.
One subscriber, Okikiola (@okikiola_Ayoade), criticized the price changes, stating, “Return our data bundles back e no easy to dey get money, you people dey inconvenience us.”
Another user, Jessy Paul (@Firstjessy), threatened to leave the network entirely, saying, “Can you change it back to what it used to be or should I break my Airtel SIM and switch to another network?”
Others, like ShadeFX D BoiCrypt (@ShadeFx__), lamented the increased burden on users, writing, “Life is already hard for us and you decided to add more to it by being heartless. Why increase data plans and then exhaust it so fast?”
In response to the backlash, Airtel Nigeria issued a statement via its X (formerly Twitter) page, acknowledging the frustration of its customers and apologizing for the inconvenience.
“We extend our sincere understanding regarding your concerns, and wish to apprise you that comprehensive revisions have been effectuated across our voice and data plans,” the company stated.
