(Ecofin Agency) - Telecom sector employees went on strike last March to denounce various charges imposed on services. The telecoms regulator has taken steps to ease tensions and satisfy consumers.

Since February 1, Guineans have been paying 18% and 20% less per local call minute. The cost is reduced from 660 to 540 Guinean francs for Orange and from 600 to 480 Guinean francs for MTN and Cellcom. This was made possible thanks to a fee waiver and a tax adjustment made by the Regulatory Authority for Posts and Telecommunications (ARPT).

The interconnection fees between telecom operators have also been cut from 200 to 100 Guinean francs per minute. "This wholesale rate, whose trend is down worldwide, has not changed in our country since its inception more than ten years ago,” the regulator said.

ARPT says it has removed the royalty of 20 Guinean francs on calls, stressing that “this fee creates a barrier to the traffic development since it prevents operators from carrying out market incentive measures through bonuses to consumers.”

As a reminder, the 20 Guinean francs royalty was introduced in March 2021 by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. It was strongly criticized by the Autonomous Federation of Telecommunications Unions (Fesatel), which then went on strike to express dissatisfaction. For several weeks, the protest by telecom workers, including employees of Orange, MTN, and Cellcom, disrupted the quality of telecom service in the country.

Let's note that the ARPT has also removed billing for customer service calls. This will make it easier for consumers to denounce any poor quality of service and lodge their complaints with telecom companies.

Isaac K. Kassouwi