Chad: the government negotiates a drop in Internet prices with telecom operators
January 24th 2022
Chad is one of the countries with the most expensive Internet prices in Africa. With the explosion in demand for connectivity, Chadians, especially young people, are increasingly demanding a service adapted to their financial realities.
The Chadian government is negotiating lower Internet prices with telecom operators. Discussions were held to this effect on Wednesday, January 19, between the Minister of Posts and the Digital Economy, Idriss Saleh Bachar, and the general managers of the mobile telephone companies Moov Africa and Airtel Chad, Mohamed Dkhissi and Djibril Tobe.
On the Moov Africa website, it is said that a 1 gigabit (GB) prepaid mobile Internet package is charged at 1,000 FCFA for a validity period of 24 hours. For the less fortunate, the 200 megabit package valid for 24 hours costs 400 FCFA. At Airtel, a package of 200 megabits (MB) valid for 24 hours costs 500 FCFA and 1 GB costs 1,500 FCFA. Rather expensive prices compared to those practiced in the neighboring country, Cameroon, where Orange offers the 100 MB package valid for 24 hours at 100 FCFA and 1,000 FCFA for 2 GB. It is the same price with the competitor MTN.
During discussions with Mohamed Dkhissi and Djibril Tobe, Idriss Saleh Bachar declared that the tariff proposals already made to the ministry are neither brilliant nor beneficial to Chadians, both in terms of price and duration of validity. He asked the representatives of Moov Africa Chad and Airtel Chad to make further readjustments.
For several months, Internet users have been calling for the reduction of Internet prices in the country. In December 2021, during the second Chadian Youth Forum, Mahamat Idriss Deby, President of the Transitional Military Council, instructed the Ministry in charge of the Digital Economy, together with operators and access providers, to reduce the cost of Internet access by 30% in order to make connectivity accessible to all sections of the Chadian population.
During Covid-19, quality and affordable internet has proven to be indispensable in more ways than one. The service has demonstrated its usefulness in access to health care, education, commerce and the continuity of certain professional activities. It is also an essential component of the national digital transformation program adopted in July 2020 in N’Djamena.
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