I almost did not write this, but then it would not be fair if I did not. Considering that only a while back I wrote a piece in which I labelled MTN a company bent on "ripping Nigerians off", it is only fair that I take back those words in the light of their new Internet connection rates and commend them for a job well done.
By now, it is no news that MTN Nigeria has slashed their Internet connection rates, so much that I screamed on seeing the new rates. These new rates are extremely competitive, and the majority of them are aimed at mobile users signifying that the company has undergone a shift in its perception of the market and has adjusted its behaviour accordingly.
It is easy to see that the average mobile Internet user would rather pay a thousand Naira for 100MB of data on a monthly basis than spend N500 to configure a cheat that might be blocked in a few days and that was the point of my argument in the earlier article. It is also quite obvious that cheaper rates will lure people into spending more time online, in the process incurring more data charges and leaving MTN with roughly the same amount of profit or more on a monthly basis.
While I am not under any illusions that I played any part in causing MTN to review their connection rates downwards, I must commend the company for being responsive to the needs of its customers. At this juncture, I must also state that I sense a hint of a reaction here - a reaction to Globacom's Internet rates. But then, that is why we live in a supposedly free-market economy, is not it?
So, for those students who need to refer to Google and Wikipedia on a constant basis, and for the social networking freaks who live on facebook, MTN is the way to go!!!
Peace.
