South Africa’s Parliament recently grilled the CEOs of MTN, Vodacom, and Telkom on an issue most of us complain about: data expiry.
The MTN CEO, in particular, gave several analogies to justify the shenanigans, talking about a parking garage, a highway, and even a bus ticket.
I know many don’t want to hear this and will accuse mobile network operators of profiteering.To be fair they do profit when your unused data disappears.
But let’s first take their side seriously. There are legit arguments for why data shouldn’t last forever.
The Case For Data Expiry
Network Capacity & Resource Allocation
This is the strongest argument MNOs have.
Mobile networks have limited infrastructure, i.e. spectrum, base stations, backhaul.
The more people who are entitled to use the network at any given time even if they’re not currently using it, the more the MNO has to plan for peak demand.
If everyone kept unused data for months, the network would have to be built out to support a theoretical scenario where all those people try to use the network at the same time. It would too expensive to try and do this.
The MTN CEO used the analogy of Parliament’s parking garage:
“If every Member of Parliament insisted on having their own personal, permanent parking spot, Parliament would need to build a garage way larger than needed just to prepare for the chance that everyone shows up at once.”
In network terms, expiry lets MNOs predict usage more accurately and avoid overbuilding infrastructure just to accommodate data rakapfimbikwa.
Encouraging Active Use
For the operator, data that isn’t being used becomes a liability, something they may one day have to deliver on. Expiry motivates customers to use the service sooner, improving network efficiency and user engagement.
It also reduces the risk of people saving huge bundles during discounts and using them over many months.
Accounting Simplicity
Expiring unused data allows them to close out liabilities and report revenue more cleanly, instead of holding long-term obligations that complicate their books.
Those Arguments Fall Apart
Let’s return to the parking garage analogy. This analogy wrongly suggests that data sitting unused somehow also uses network capacity in real time in the same way a reserved parking spot uses real physical space.
Yes, building out infrastructure for unpredictable demand is expensive, but prepaid data is not a real-time reservation on bandwidth. Let me explain.
It’s not like unused data slows down the network. It just sits in your account, waiting. It doesn’t take up bandwidth unless you’re actually using it.
In fact, MNOs already use network management tools like throttling, congestion control, and fair usage policies to deal with actual traffic. If someone with 50GB of old data suddenly starts bingeing HD video on Netflix, the network can still manage that.
To show that MNOs are being disengenuous here, consider that they also risk unpredictable surges when many users buy data and use it immediately.
They don’t limit the number of people who can recharge at the same time, so why claim saved and unused data is a bigger threat? The answer is simple, one generates fresh revenue, the other is a liability.
If you’re worried about someone showing up after 3 months and flooding the network, throttle them, don’t erase their balance.
The Flawed Bus Ticket Analogy
The MTN CEO also said something along the lines of, if you buy a bus ticket for 3 PM and you miss the bus, the ticket doesn’t stay valid forever, it expires. Likewise, data bought for a time period should expire.
However, bus or airline tickets are services that are constrained to certain times. You’re paying for the ride at a specific time, not just access to the bus company’s service whenever you want.
Data bundles are not tied to a scheduled session. They’re more like ZESA tokens. You buy a ZESA token for $10 today. If you don’t use it this month, it doesn’t vanish. You still have the kWh available until you load and consume them.
So what’s really going on?
Let’s be honest, data expiry is profitable. You buy a 10GB bundle, use 6GB, and the rest vanishes. That’s 4GB you paid for, which the operator doesn’t have to deliver. Multiply that across millions of users, and they make a killing.
So yes, capacity planning is a real thing. But expiry seems less about fairness and more about protecting profits.
A Better Analogy
Here’s an analogy that may explain the situation better. I’m not trying to help the MNOs out but I think it captures the actual scenario a little better.
Think of mobile data like a buffet meal. Say you pay for access to eat up to 5kg of food, but only between 12 PM and 2 PM. If you only eat 2kg by the time 2 PM hits, you don’t get to take the remaining 3kg home. You knew the rules when you paid.
It’s not that the food disappeared unfairly. It’s that you were buying access to something that’s shared with others for a limited time, there was no take-away in the deal.
This captures what MNOs are actually selling: access rights with time limits. Not ownership of a digital good forever. In that light, expiry is a feature, not a trick or scam.
So Then What’s the Real Issue?
The issue isn’t that consumers were misled. Most of us understand that bundles expire. The problem is that, in a world where networks can now manage demand in different ways like through throttling, rollover, dynamic pricing, and real-time congestion control, the expiry thing feels like old thinking and unnecessarily harsh.
We’re not saying “we didn’t know our data would expire.” We’re saying, surely, by now, there’s a better way to treat paying customers.”
What Could Be Better?
Rollover: Let unused data carry forward, even if capped. However…
More flexible throttling models: Instead of erasing your data, reduce speeds after a certain period. That protects the network while ensuring customers don’t lose value.
Expiring Data Is Not A Scam
Data expiry isn’t a scam. It’s part of how mobile networks were built to manage cost, risk, and performance. And yes, the buffet analogy shows it can be a fair deal.
But just because it’s fair doesn’t mean it’s still the best we can do.
With better tools now available to manage demand, maybe it’s time MNOs stopped throwing away our unused GBs and started treating them like something we paid for.
Leave a Reply Cancel reply