Cameroon - Review of severe problems of failed reforms and illegal operators

[apc] In 1995, Cameroon initiated a restructuring process in the telecommunications sector. Placed among the least-connected countries in Africa (ranked 179th out of 206 countries classified by the International Telecommunication Union), the Telecommunications Regulation Agency (ART) was established to ensure healthy competition between operators at the time of this restructuring.

That should have allowed for the entry of new operators onto the market which in theory should have led to a reduction in prices and an improvement in the quality of service. However, today the average Cameroonian still can not afford to freely browse the internet or make long or long-distance calls on his or her land line or mobile telephone.

During the reforms that took place between 2002 and 2008, 123 network operating licences were awarded, 53 of which were for open public networks, 70 for independent private networks and around fifty for internet success providers, but this multitude of licences and operators did not lead to the much anticipated reduction in prices Cameroonians had been waiting for.

Illegal telco operators in Cameroon: The most reasonable option