(Business in Cameroon) - On May 21, 2018, by announcing its partnership with the Belgian company SatADSL to offer internet access via satellite in Cameroon, CAMTEL implicitly set the stage for the Franco-Belgian competition on the tiny market of internet access via satellite in the country.

Indeed, on this market, the consortium Camtel- SatADSL officially joins Konnect Africa, a subsidiary of the French group Eutelsat, which has been trying to acquire part of the market since 2017 thanks to a partnership with two local companies (Bloosat and Gosat which launched their services between July and August 2017).

The two competitors’ strategy is the same. They target users in the rural zones usually forgotten by Internet Access Providers. They also offer the possibility for a service called 'Pay as you go'. Moreover, Konnect Africa promises to set Wifi hotspots in zones with high population.   

Once again, these arrivals demonstrate the opportunity offered by the commercialization of internet (whose penetration rate increased from 2% in 2010 to 26% in 2016 according to figures from the International Telecommunication Union). However, to be competitive in the internet market, the new providers will have to work on their prices, an ICT expert reveals.

For instance, local SMEs (known for their difficulty to access funding) or middle income individuals will rather prefer an internet bundle at CFA20,000 monthly (with free wifi modem) from Camtel to setting fees estimated at CFA100,000 and a monthly bill of CFA25,000 from Gosat.

Brice R. Mbodiam