Data heist: Telecoms cash in on expiry dates

You pay for 10GB of data, but unless you consume it quickly enough, it is revoked without compensation.

The ethical and legal issues are significant. Uganda’s Communications (Consumer Protection) Regulations, 2019, emphasize fairness and transparency, but telecom giants continue to revoke loyalty rewards.

Across the border, Kenya’s High Court recently set a precedent in Benjamin v. Safaricom PLC (2024), ruling that expiring data bundles violated consumer rights, something that sets a precedent that Uganda might follow, especially as telecom operators here have started imposing expiry dates on everything from data bundles to loyalty rewards.

The Kenyan case serves as a stark reminder that this practice is not only ethically dubious but also legally risky.
Let us look at another example: imagine collecting reward points at your favourite coffee shop for years, only to wake up one day and find they have expired because the shop decided so.

You’d be furious, right? Well, that is what Safaricom tried to do with its popular Bonga Points loyalty programme in Kenya—until Dr Magare Gikenyi Benjamin took them to court and won.

In a landmark ruling, the Kenyan High Court told Safaricom, “Nice try, but no.” The court declared loyalty points earned by customers become their property, and taking them away without warning is theft.

The judges did not buy Safaricom’s excuse that the terms and conditions allowed them to change the rules whenever. Instead, they ruled that retroactive expiry policies were not only unfair, but also a breach of consumer trust and a violation of constitutional rights.

Kenya’s precedent
The Kenyan High Court’s smackdown on Safaricom’s expiry policies is not just a Kenyan problem—it is a wake-up call for Uganda’s telecommunications sector, says AdLegal, a consumer advocacy organisation.
Uganda’s telecom landscape is built on customer loyalty programmes and mobile money services—two areas that were directly challenged in Kenya’s case.

MTN’s Senkyu Points, Airtel’s Money bonuses, and MoMo Pay rewards all operate in the same way as Safaricom’s Bonga Points.
If telecoms here decide to randomly slap expiry dates on these incentives or alter terms without consulting customers, they could find themselves in a courtroom déjà vu.

Regulators aren’t off the hook, either.
“The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), much like Kenya’s CAK, has to step up oversight and make sure telecoms don’t quietly tweak policies that disadvantage consumers. If anything, this ruling could push the UCC to take a firmer stance on fair business practices, forcing telecoms to consult the public before enforcing major changes,” AdLegal argues.
For Uganda’s telecom companies, the message is clear: ignore consumer rights at your own risk.

A watchdog with no bite?
On paper, Uganda’s consumer protection laws in the telecom sector look solid. The Uganda Communications (Consumer Protection) Regulations, 2019, promise fairness, transparency, and the right to receive what you have paid for.
But in reality, several consumer advocate firms hold that telecom companies have been getting away with policies that violate these protections, especially when it comes to the sneaky imposition of expiry dates on data bundles, airtime, and loyalty programmes.

Your money, their rules?
According to Regulation 5 (e), consumers should only be charged for what they use. Sounds simple, right? Yet, expiry policies force people to lose prepaid services—meaning telecom operators pocket the money without delivering the full service.

This is “legalised theft” dressed up as business strategy, Aziz Kitaka, a lawyer with AdLegal Uganda, notes: “It gets worse: low-income consumers suffer the most,” he adds.

As aforementioned, the law guarantees that everyone should have equal access to services, but expiry dates hit those who don’t have the luxury of burning through their data or airtime quickly.

It demonstrates that if you can’t afford to buy data frequently, you are effectively penalised for being a careful spender.

The classic telecom bait-and-switch
You have probably seen it before—a flashy ad promising “double data” or “extra bonuses” on airtime.
But they don’t tell you that the bonus expires in 24 hours, rendering it useless. This deceptive marketing violates Regulation 14(1) (b), which prohibits misleading ads.
Yet, telecoms get away with it at what many consumers call ‘a weak enforcement.’

A sleep watchdog?
The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) should be the strong advocate for enforcing consumer rights. It has the power to investigate, penalise, and suspend licences under Regulations 27 and 28.

But so far, its approach has been more of “wait and see” than “act and fix.”
“Instead of waiting for frustrated consumers to file complaints—something most people don’t have the time, knowledge, or resources to do—the UCC needs to step up proactively. Fines, public reprimands, and consequences for unfair business practices could finally force telecoms to play fair,” Kitaka notes.

While Uganda’s laws are already in place, the problem isn’t the rules but the lack of enforcement.
Kitaka argues: “If telecoms continue to impose unfair expiry policies, it is because no one is stopping them.”

“Until regulators step in and start calling out these practices for what they are—unjust enrichment at the consumer’s expense—Ugandans will keep losing their hard-earned money to expiration tricks,” he adds.
The Kenyan case has proven that the law can side with consumers. The question is: Will Uganda follow suit, or will telecoms continue to write their own rules?

The money pot
So, to the telecoms, the argument is that there is a trade-off.
MTN Uganda’s chief executive officer Sylvia Mulinge told dmMoney that “Bundles expire because of pricing trade-offs – If customers want cheaper data, they need to commit to frequent usage. If data didn’t expire, people could hoard cheap bundles forever, making it harder for telecoms to maintain low prices.”

She explains that non-expiry bundles exist, but they cost more: “If you don’t want your data to expire, you have to pay a premium for that flexibility.”

“It is all about balancing business and consumer needs – Telecoms need to make money while keeping services affordable. If they let customers keep everything indefinitely, it would mess with their revenue model and the network’s efficiency,” she explains.

Telecoms deal with limited resources such as bandwidth, which is tied to their infrastructure. When you buy data, they are essentially reserving a chunk of the network just for you. But if you don’t use it, that reserved space can’t be passed around, causing wasted potential. Expiry dates help free up this unused data for other users, keeping things moving smoothly.

Think of it like reserving a table at a restaurant. If you don’t show up, they need to clear the space for others. Expiry dates do the same for data, ensuring the network stays efficient.

Expiry dates are necessary for efficiency, but if the balance is not right—transparent, fair, and still operational—it creates a system where customers are left feeling short-changed.
MTN is not against non-expiry bundles, but it believes that consumers need to pay extra for them because unlimited validity messes up with their business model.

Airtel’s rationale
In a response to dmMoney, David Birungi, Airtel Uganda’s spokesperson, explains that when you buy a data bundle, you are essentially paying for a specific access period, not ownership of the data itself.
“Data bundles, airtime bonuses, and loyalty rewards are time-bound, much like rent or airline tickets that have a set validity,” he says.

However, Airtel acknowledges customer feedback and that is why it is introducing flexible, non-expiring options like their Chillax bundles, which allow more freedom.

“This balance between expiry and non-expiry options gives customers greater choice, while the broader expiry policy helps maintain the business's sustainability in a competitive market,” Birungi says.

Regulator’s dilemma
UCC’s argument revolves around balancing consumer protection with business viability in Uganda’s telecom sector.
The regulator acknowledges in an email response to dmMoney that “consumers find expiring bundles frustrating, but we also recognise that telecom operators need to maintain an economically sustainable model.”
And the regulator has a plethora of reasons for this.

One is consumer choice. UCC says it has ensured that telecom operators offer both expiring and non-expiry bundles (for example, freedom and chillax bundles).

“This allows customers to choose what works best for them,” says the regulator’s spokesperson, Ibrahim Bbosa.
UCC iterates the same argument of telecoms that “expiry policies keep things flowing smoothly, recycling data and ensuring that prices stay as manageable and bandwidth is fairly distributed among active users.”

UCC enforces this approach by watching over telecom companies so that they do not introduce or change data plans without its approval.

And some of the things it is winning in, according to Bbosa, are– “It has pushed telecoms to introduce non-expiry bundles for those who prefer them. It has ensured greater transparency in how data bundles are structured and still monitors pricing and auto-renewal policies to prevent unfair practices.”

While progress has been made, UCC still faces pressure to improve transparency, regulate auto-renewals more strictly, and ensure non-expiry bundles remain affordable.

Reforms?
The definition of "prepaid" suggests that once you have bought something, it is yours. Yet, telecom operators have flipped the script, using expiry dates as what many see as ‘a tool the telecoms use to erase consumer benefits and maximise profits.’
This is what is driving consumers to seek an upgrade. While the rules exist, “enforcement is weak, allowing telecom companies to set unfair terms without oversight.”

Now, a blueprint for reforms is underpinned on three key areas:
Ban expiry dates without a valid reason – the idea is that telecom operators shouldn’t be allowed to set expiry dates on prepaid services unless they can justify it with ‘thorough’ technical or regulatory reasons.

The second is to compensate consumers for lost services – the argument is that if a telecom company unfairly expires your data, airtime, or points, you should be entitled to a refund, service extension, or equivalent value replacement.
Currently, if your data disappears, it is gone—no reimbursement, no recourse.

The third one is pinned on making expiry policies transparent and fair –Expiry dates are usually buried in fine print, making it hard for consumers to make informed decisions.

If telecoms insist on expiry policies, they should be disclosed upfront and subject to regulatory approval.
“The current system favours corporate profits over consumer rights. That needs to end. If UCC issues stricter regulations and ensures full value for prepaid services, telecom companies will be forced to respect their customers instead of exploiting them,” Kitaka argues.

Contentious
The issue of expiring paid-for telecom services remains a point of contention, sparking debate among consumers, telecom operators, and regulators alike.

On one hand, customers feel shortchanged when their unused data, voice minutes, or SMS bundles vanish after a set period, especially when they have already paid for them.

This frustration has led to calls for regulatory intervention, with consumer rights groups and even lawmakers questioning whether such expirations are fair.

On the other hand, telecom companies argue that maintaining non-expiry bundles across the board would disrupt their business model, making it harder to offer lower-cost data plans.

They justify expirations as a necessary trade-off, ensuring a steady revenue stream while keeping networks sustainable.
Regulators, caught in the middle, have tried to strike a balance by pushing for more transparency, consumer choice, and alternative packages like non-expiry bundles, albeit at a premium.

However, the debate persists as both sides seek a solution that protects consumer rights without undermining the economic viability of telecom services.
In 2024, Airtel Uganda made Shs961 billion in revenue from services like data and other value-added services, up from Shs775.7 billion in 2023.

MTN Uganda earned Shs1.3 trillion in revenue from voice services in 2024, compared to Shs1.12 trillion in 2023, and made an additional Shs811.8 billion from data, up from Shs621.98 billion the year before.