(Business in Cameroon) - Today March 12, 2020, the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Minette Libom Li Likeng is scheduled to officially hand 3 concession agreements, delivered by the government, to Camtel.  

According to the Minister, these agreements are to enable Camtel to boost its productivity and its offers of quality services at affordable prices, following the Head of State’s prescription for the development of a digital economy.

According to sources close to the case, the three new 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 accessible to the public via 2G,3G, and 4G technologies. The second will be open to the public nationwide via wireline access. For the transport network, it will include submarine cable landing stations and teleports for satellite networks.

Thanks to these agreements, Camtel becomes the 4th leading mobile operator in Cameroon, with the authorization to deploy up to the 4G network. By granting them, Cameroon is strengthening Camtel’s position in the development of the IT and telecommunications sectors in the country.

The challenge of transparency and justice

According to our sources, the new concessions will induce a reorganization of Camtel into Business Units, which will be tasked to manage the concessions.

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

But to achieve this major transformation, the public telecom 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," good sources 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," the responsible ministry orders.  

Brice R. Mbodiam