Congo-Angola: Towards reducing interference and improving communications in border areas
August 11th 2025
Following three days of intense technical work, the Electronic Communications Regulators of the Republic of Congo and the Republic of Angola have taken a decisive step in bilateral cooperation in the management of the radio frequency spectrum.
From August 5 to 7, 2025, the city of Pointe-Noire (Republic of Congo) hosted a joint meeting of experts from the Postal and Electronic Communications Regulatory Agency (ARPCE) and the Angolan Institute of Communications (INACOM), which resulted in the validation of the draft frequency coordination agreement on the common borders, 231 kilometers long.
Indeed, this initiative responds to the urgent need to prevent mutual interference problems that significantly degrade the quality of network services, intentional coverage that causes accidental roaming and also to allow equitable access to spectrum resources in border areas. Thanks to this agreement, the technical foundations are now laid to ensure a better quality of service for local populations, while strengthening the spectral sovereignty of each State.
The work brought together, alongside representatives of the two regulators, the operators MTN, Airtel, Congo Telecom (for Congo) and Unitel (for Angola). A field visit to Tchiamba-Nzassi (Congo) and Massabi (Angola) made it possible to identify areas of network coverage overflow and to note the existence of unauthorized points of sale of products and services of Congolese operators across the border.
On the technical level, the delegations agreed on the coordination parameters for seven frequency bands, ranging from 700 MHz to 3500 MHz, and adopted a set of binding provisions, including: limiting coverage to 1000 meters beyond borders, banning omnidirectional antennas in proximity areas and dismantling irregular points of sale.
As such, these provisions will be notified to operators within 30 days. They will have 60 days from the notification to implement the corrections. This draft agreement, technically validated, will be formally signed in the coming weeks by the highest authorities of the two institutions, Mr. Louis Marc SAKALA for ARPCE and Mr. Joaquim Domingos MUHOGO, for INACOM.
It is worth noting that this agreement with Angola reinforces the regional spectrum coordination strategy implemented by ARPCE. It is in line with the bilateral agreements previously concluded with: the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (ARPTC) of the Democratic Republic of Congo, in 2021 and the Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority (ARCEP) of Gabon, in 2023.
Through these structuring partnerships, ARPCE positions itself as a major player in the area of concerted frequency management at the sub-regional level, in accordance with the recommendations of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
Following on from these advances, discussions are already underway with the Cameroon Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (ART) with a view to a fourth bilateral spectrum coordination agreement. ARPCE thus intends to continue its efforts to promote a harmonized, secure, and efficient digital space within the Central African sub-region.
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