The Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (ART) imposed a global fine of 3.5 billion FCFA to mobile operators for “recurring shortcomings” in the operation of their services.
By Achille Mbog Pibasso
Operators of mobile telephony operating in the country outside the public company Cameroon Telecommunications (CAMTEL) were sanctioned the regulator. The ART reproaches these operators, several failures in the course of their activities, notwithstanding reminders to the order of the government and notices through the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and those of the regulator of the telecom sector.
The terms of the press release published on July 4, 2019 are unequivocal: “The Director General of the Telecommunications Regulatory Agency informs the public that after several inspection missions followed by formal notices and in accordance with the regulations in force , financial penalties were imposed on operators MTN Cameroon (1 billion FCFA), ORANGE Cameroon (1.5 billion FCFA and VIETTEL Cameroon (1 billion FCFA) ».
Sanctions that followed “recurring breaches” observed in the implementation of Decree No. 2015: 3759 / PM of September 03, 2015 setting the terms of identification of subscribers and terminals including the marketing of pre-activated SIM cards, the marketing of SIM cards in the streets, the possession by individuals of more than three SIM cards and the activation of numbers without prior identification.
In addition, the regulator recalled that following the persistent degradation of the quality of service of the electronic communications networks, and despite the firm commitments made by these operators, they have gone beyond “formal notice decisions addressed to them. to comply within one month with the requirements of their specifications “.
ART states that in June 2019 it rejected the MTN Cameroon, ORANGE Cameroon, and IHS interconnection and access catalogs, following their evaluation, “the recommendations for the decline in some wholesale rates to guarantee the principle of tariff orientation to costs have not been respected. ” The regulator assured that “the payment is immediate and that any recourse can be done, but after having paid”. Recommendations are made to lower the rates for communications to end consumers.
