(Ecofin Agency) - Mobile operator, Expresso Senegal has only 24 days left to relaunch fixed-line telephone services in Senegal and avoid sanctions from the Post and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (ARTP). Through a formal notice sent on Thursday, February 11th, the telecom regulator has questioned the subsidiary of the Sudanese telecom group Sudatel, holder of a global license, on the violation of the provisions of its specifications.

"I am putting you on notice, per article 177 of law n° 2018-28 of December 1, 2018, on the Electronic Communications Code, to put back into service the fixed telephony in all its forms, by annex 1 of your specifications within thirty days from the date of receipt of this letter. After this period, the ARTP will be obliged to apply sanctions," Abdoul Ly, the director-general of the telecom regulatory body told Rady Almamoun, the acting CEO of Expresso.

This new surge of pressure from ARTP to Expresso comes just a few days after the telecom regulator criticized the operator for several breaches of its commitments, including insufficient investment to improve the quality of its services.

ARTP is becoming stricter towards telecom companies concerning the socio-economic stakes of the various telecom services they are obliged to provide to the population. Any failure to meet these obligations is likely to destabilize competition, which plays an essential role in the diversity of offers, lower prices, and improved quality of services.

Muriel Edjo