CI-NEWS

Productivity enhanced as CAMTEL gets licence to go mobile.

2020-03-16

No: 477

Productivity enhanced as CAMTEL gets licence to go mobile.

The supply of quality electronic Telecommunications services at affordable prices will soon be guaranteed in Cameroon when The Cameroon Telecommunication, CAMTEL, goes mobile.

The national operator was last Thursday, 12 March, granted three Concession Agreements aimed at enhancing its productivity.

The official handing over ceremony of the Concession Agreements was presided over by the Minister of Post and Telecommunications, Minette Libom Li Likeng, in the presence of some members of government, General Manager of CAMTEL, Judith Yah Sunday Achidi, and its Board Chairman, the General Manager of CRTV, and other high ranking officials in the country.

After MTN, Orange, and Nextel, CAMTEL becomes the 4th mobile operator in Cameroon with the authorization to deploy up to 4G network.

CAMTEL was in business without an operating license until 2003 when the state granted it on November 14, 2003, a provisional concession agreement for fixed telephone networks and services for a period of two years renewable once. Sources from CAMTEL say, this Concession expired in 2007. Since then, CAMTEL has no longer benefited from a formal operating licence to operate the fixed telephone and transport networks in a competitive environment.

Value-added

Sources from CAMTEL have revealed that the three agreements focus on the establishment and operation of two electronic communication networks and one electronic communication transport network :

-The first communication network with national coverage will be opened via 2G, 3G, and 4G technologies ;

-The second will be open to the public nationwide through wireless access; and

-The third which involves transport network, will include submarine, cable landing stations and teleports for satellite networks.

It should be reiterated that CAMTEL is the only mobile operator having the exclusive right and licence to carry out that service.

Presiding over the official handing over ceremony at the Yaounde Hilton, the Post and Telecommunications Minister said the new birth of CAMTEL would not only promote competition amongst the telephone mobile companies, but would improve the quality of services and reduce the prices for the population. She added that, the initiative is at the request of President Paul Biya in a bid to develop Cameroon’s digital economy.

Receiving the three Concession Agreements, the General Manager of CAMTEL, Judith Yah Sunday Achidi, stated that the long-awaited Concession Agreements are a huge challenge that her company is fully prepared and equipped to handle. The “born-again” CAMTEL, she said, would have to reorganize itself into business units for proper management.

Great expectations

"In the medium term, i.e. within 3 years, these Business Units should lead to a mature functional separation," a CAMTEL official indicated. Camtel could even be separated into subsidiaries to become a telecoms group, he said.

But to achieve this major transformation, the public telecoms company must be able to meet many challenges. "With three operating titles, Camtel will have to- more than ever- face suspicions of non-transparency, even corruption or unfair management of operators in their segments. Camtel will also face recriminations and reproaches, in case of poor quality of service, approximate after-sales service, or slowness in the provision of services," sources at the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications indicate.

To avoid criticism or being qualified as an operator abusing its dominant position, Camtel will have to "comply with the international standards quality of service indicators contained in the specifications," observers point out.

“All requests, without distinction of their origins, must be treated fairly and transparently, following the regulations in force. Also, the accounting and technical traceability of operators must be ensured," Minette Libom Li Likeng, MINPOSTEL boss, is quoted as having instructed.

She told reporters last Thursday the handover of the three concession agreements marked a decisive step in the move towards Cameroon’s digital transformation.

But will they meet the expectations of Cameroonians coming into the mobile operation market from behind? Only time will tell. As of now, it is Game on!

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Productivity enhanced as CAMTEL gets licence to go mobile.