(Ecofin Agency) - • ARPCE urged Airtel and MTN to address nationwide service quality shortcomings.
• A Feb–April 2025 audit showed significant performance drops across key areas.
• Both operators pledged to submit optimization plans to correct technical issues.

The Regulatory Authority for Posts and Electronic Communications (ARPCE) has firmly called on mobile operators, Airtel and MTN, to substantially improve their mobile service quality. This standpoint was conveyed at the end of a meeting held on May 16 to discuss the results from the first large-scale campaign to evaluate mobile network quality for the year 2025. The meeting took place at the institution’s headquarters in Brazzaville.

The evaluation campaign, conducted from February 23 to April 14, 2025, covered several strategic areas of the national territory. These include road networks RN1 and RN2, localities of Up Country South (Mouyondzi, Madingou, Nkayi, Dolisie), those of Up Country North (Gamboma, Oyo, Owando, Ouesso), as well as the two major agglomerations, Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire.

The presentation of the results by Benjamin Mouandza, the Director of Networks and Electronic Communication Services, highlighted a concerning situation. Performance indicators from all evaluated zones showed a significant decline in service quality, affecting both the continuity of communication and user experience stability compared to the same period last year. Deficiencies were especially prominent along RN1 and RN2 roads, critical for national interconnection and user mobility.

In addition, roaming tests conducted along these routes did not confirm the effective functioning of services on sites declared roaming areas by the operators. This was deemed unacceptable given the current regulatory obligations.

Responding to the regulator’s concerns over the observed shortcomings, experts from both operators acknowledged certain malfunctions while providing some explanations.

MTN referred to ongoing works to enhance capacity in the cities of Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire—efforts that had not yet reached full effect at the time of testing. The market-leading telecommunication service provider requested a detailed list of critical areas from the ARPCE, so as to implement a targeted optimization plan, the details of which will be provided shortly.

For its part, Airtel outlined several technical constraints affecting service quality in several regions. Max Bouhoyi, Legal and Regulatory Director of Airtel, explained that along the coast, persistent interferences with the networks of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on the 2100 MHz band disrupt signal transmission. An audit report has been submitted to the ARPCE for cross-border mediation or coordination. Like its competitor, Airtel also promised to submit an optimization plan to the regulator in the following days to correct these observed inadequacies in its network.

In closing the meeting, Benjamin Mouandza stressed the importance of operators notifying the ARPCE in advance about any project or technical intervention that could impact service quality, ensuring fair and contextualized evaluation.

Celestin Endoke, Director of Legal and International Affairs, along with two other central directors, reiterated the regulatory obligation to ensure effective national roaming, especially on corridors RN1 and RN2. He emphasized that failure to comply with this requirement exposes the operators to punitive measures as provided by law.

Simply put, this rigorous evaluation campaign reiterates the ARPCE’s commitment to ensuring electronic communication users receive a quality, stable, and accessible service throughout the territory. Accordingly, the regulator is calling on operators to show increased responsiveness and more structured collaboration in resolving technical issues.