Mauritania: Telecoms quality remains poor despite pressure from regulator
September 16th 2025
Telecom operators’ specifications set quality of service standards that must be met by consumers. The regulator’s mission is to ensure that these commitments are effectively implemented.
The Mauritanian Regulatory Authority (ARE) recently revealed that it has issued formal notices to telecom operators Chinguitel, Mauritel, and Mattel, following breaches of the quality commitments set out in each operator’s specifications. This is not the first time the telecoms regulator has taken a swipe at the table. Despite a series of financial and administrative sanctions in recent years, the quality of voice and data services remains below expectations.
This formal notice follows an inspection mission conducted by the regulator from July 7 to August 23, which highlighted deficiencies in 62 cities, towns and 11 roads. Mattel was singled out for deficiencies in 24 cities for voice, 15 for 3G data, 22 for 4G and 9 roads. Mauritel recorded deficiencies in 24 cities for voice, 30 for 3G, 29 for 4G and 8 roads. Chinguitel was singled out in 28 cities for voice, 39 for 3G, 22 for 4G and 10 roads.
“Consequently, the Regulatory Authority has invited the operators Mattel, Mauritel and Chinguitel to comply with their commitments in terms of quality of voice and data services in the towns, localities and roads where the shortcomings are noted, within thirty (30) calendar days from the date of receipt of the letters of formal notice sent to them ,” declared the ARE in a press release published on Friday, September 12.
Yet, on January 19, the regulator had already issued a formal notice to Chinguitel for failing to ensure the permanent, continuous, and regular availability of its services. According to the ARE’s continuous monitoring platform, between January 1 and 14, 162 of the operator’s sites were out of service for a cumulative period exceeding 72 hours, the maximum threshold stipulated by law. The operator had seven days to correct these failures or face sanctions. However, no public update has been published to indicate whether the corrections have been made or whether the planned actions have been implemented.
In November 2024, the telecoms regulator had already imposed sanctions on all three operators for failing to meet their quality of service obligations. Mauritel received a financial penalty of 313.2 million ouguiyas (7.8 million USD) and a one-month reduction in the term of its current 2G license. Mattel received a financial penalty of 127.03 million ouguiyas, followed by a two-month reduction in the term of its 2G license. Chinguitel, for its part, will have to pay 100.2 million ouguiyas to the public treasury. The terms of its 2G, 3G, and 4G licenses were also reduced by three, one, and two months, respectively.
In September 2024, the regulator had already threatened operators with these sanctions. In response, Mattel announced in October the completion of a campaign to expand its telecoms network, which began two years ago. The project was carried out in two phases. The first, completed in November 2023, focused on strengthening the network at 266 sites. The second, finalized in September 2024, expanded the network to 217 additional sites, covering all regional capitals and districts in the country. In addition, Mattel increased coverage on five major highways in Mauritania.
A few days later, Moov announced that it had launched a 14 billion ouguiya (USD 35.2 million) investment program to strengthen its telecoms infrastructure. The seven-month initiative aims to significantly improve voice and internet quality across the country.
The AER expects that financial and administrative penalties imposed on telecom operators will encourage them “to continuously ensure service users receive quality levels consistent with international standards,” in accordance with their contractual commitments. However, the Global Telecommunications Association (GSMA) believes this is not always the case. The organization believes that some targets set by regulators may be overly complex or unrealistic, with many indicators that are difficult to measure, which can hinder long-term investment.
To address these limitations, the GSMA recommends co-regulation, where performance targets are set transparently and fairly, published regularly, and allow consumers to monitor changes in service quality while providing a competitive advantage to high-performing operators.
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