• Congo and Angola agree on technical rules for managing seven frequency bands along their 231 km border.
• The agreement includes limiting signal coverage to 1,000 meters beyond borders, banning omnidirectional antennas near borders, and dismantling illegal sales points.
• This effort is part of a broader regional push, with similar agreements involving Gabon, Cameroon, Chad, and Equatorial Guinea.

Frequencies form the backbone of telecom services in every country. Without proper coordination between nations, service quality can drop sharply, especially in border regions.

From August 5 to 7, delegations from Congo and Angola met to align frequency use along their shared borders. The Autorité de Régulation des Postes et des Communications Electroniques du Congo (ARPCE) said both sides agreed on coordination parameters for seven frequency bands ranging from 700 MHz to 3,500 MHz. They also adopted binding rules: restrict coverage to 1,000 metres beyond borders, ban omnidirectional antennas in border areas, and dismantle irregular sales outlets.

A regional trend

This initiative fits into a broader regional movement. On August 4, Gabon and Cameroon reached a similar deal. ARPCE had already signed accords with the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2021 and Gabon in 2023, and talks with Cameroon are ongoing. Other recent steps include a Chad–Cameroon meeting last June and an August 2024 announcement of a tripartite agreement between Cameroon, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea.

Waves Know No Borders

According to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), radio waves do not stop at political boundaries, creating the need for joint frequency management in border regions. Such agreements guarantee fair spectrum access, improve efficiency by reducing waste from guard bands or exclusion zones, and minimise harmful interference risks.

Frequency overflow can also let foreign operators penetrate neighbouring markets. In the early 2000s, Chad’s regulator (OTRT) accused Cameroon’s MTN and Orange, operating from Kousséri, of saturating the N'Djamena market with cheap phones and SIM cards. The influx, OTRT claimed, undermined CELTEL and LIBERTIS, which had just launched in Chad. The dispute, escalated to the ITU, ended in September 2009 with a cross-border coordination agreement signed in Maroua.

For Congo and Angola, their agreement remains unsigned but is expected soon. The real test will be its enforcement on the ground — an issue that affects not just this bilateral deal, but the region’s entire spectrum coordination framework.

Isaac K. Kassouwi