Telecom & 5G
Technology
When Good Intentions Backfire: MTN's Data Campaign and the Cost of Hastily Executed Policy
The writer examines MTN Cameroon's customer compensation campaign—offering free data and credit to address network service failures—and shows how the initiative fell short despite good intentions. The failure stemmed not from the gesture itself but from inadequate planning: all customers received gifts simultaneously, creating network congestion; unequal distribution (data versus credit) created perceptions of unfairness; and no staggered approach or clear communication existed to manage expectations.
What Happened to Technology (Part One)?
The writer examines the paradox of Cameroon's reputation for producing internet fraudsters alongside widespread vulnerability to scams, and traces the root cause to technological illiteracy masked by casual access. The piece critiques both petty corruption in government administration and the public's credulity toward get-rich-quick schemes, arguing that technology is treated as status symbol rather than tool.