Congo: telecom operators have until December to improve quality of service
September 29th 2020
The quality of telecom services is not good in Congo. The regulator decried it on September 25. In his investigation report conducted from July 2 to August 29, 2020, he noted that white areas are increasing. He gave MTN and Airtel 3 months to remedy the situation.
Congo’s Post and Electronic Communications Regulatory Agency (ARPCE) has given telecom operators until December 2020 to improve the quality of telecom services in the country. According to the report of the investigation conducted by ARPCE from July 2 to August 29, 2020, MTN and Airtel have dropped in network coverage. Numerous white zones (localities totally not covered by telecom networks) have been counted across the national territory.
The current situation of the Congolese telecoms market can be explained by the Covid-19, which has severely hampered the field operations of telecom companies. “The workforce has been reduced, the night interventions having been canceled because of curfews. The operators are not at their level of excellence ”, acknowledged Louis-Marc Sakala (photo) the director of ARPCE, on September 25, 2020.
But with the current easing of a number of restrictions imposed by the disease, he called on telecom operators to end their slack. According to ARPCE, although it is responsible for ensuring coverage of the entire national territory in infrastructure and electronic communications services, particularly in rural or isolated areas, within the framework of the Access Fund and universal service, telecom operators must first of all assume their responsibilities and respect their specifications.
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