(Business in Cameroon) - The Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (ART in French) of Cameroon continues to argue: following the rules, the 4G technology is not yet a reality in the country, despite the announcement made by the operators. “When we give a concession to an operator, there is an executive overview and in appendix, specifications which give more details on what the operator should do with his contract. Unfortunately, the operators rushed in the launch of the 4^th generation without factoring in all these elements”, Mengang Bekono, Technical Director of ART cited by the pro-government daily paper, maintained.

In concrete terms, according to ART who has not at the moment taken any repressive action against Orange and MTN who almost simultaneously announced the arrival of 4G in Cameroon in December 2015, these operators did not respect the obligations prescribed by the Cameroonian State in terms of the frequency on which they must operate, the network coverage rate and the quality of service.

Furthermore, some aspects of the specifications imposed to the operators holding a 4G licence in Cameroon are still under development or under review at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). “All these elements must be refined before rolling out the 4G in style”, the Technical Director of ART stresses, before saying, in a sententious tone: “The regulatory authority persists in saying that the launch of the 4G is just a publicity stunt, a marketing strategy and nothing else”.