• Move said to follow public complaints, part of broader digital inclusion push

• Data costs remain high, exceeding global affordability benchmarks
  

Madagascar’s telecommunications regulator, the Autorité de régulation des technologies de la communication (ARTEC), has formally urged mobile operators to consider reducing rates to make services more affordable for consumers.

The regulator said the move follows a wave of public complaints in recent weeks about the high cost of mobile internet.

In a statement issued Thursday, Oct. 23, ARTEC said the initiative “continues the actions undertaken since late 2024, which resulted in an initial adjustment of existing rates.” However, no timeline has yet been set for the review or for possible price changes.

ARTEC emphasized that it has no authority to directly set operators’ prices. The regulator explained that its role “is to facilitate dialogue and promote fair, sustainable, and inclusive solutions across the digital ecosystem.”

The government has been working to lower telecom costs for nearly a year. In October 2024, Minister of Digital Development, Posts and Telecommunications, Stéphanie Delmotte, announced a joint initiative with operators to make prices more affordable.

“The time has come to align with international best practices,” she said. “I believe that soon we will be able to announce good news on Internet prices. No matter what, we are committed to reducing Internet costs so that the majority of the population can access these data services.”

Just months earlier, in April 2024, authorities had introduced a minimum price for one gigabyte, raising it from $0.45 to $0.95. Initially presented as a market-stabilization measure to ensure fairer access, the government revoked the floor price in May, saying that “prices artificially maintained at a high level by operators did not reflect the commitments made during negotiations.”

These efforts are part of Madagascar’s broader goal to expand mobile internet access as part of its digital transformation strategy. To support this goal, a $24 million initiative was recently launched to distribute 40,000 smartphones to citizens.

According to ARTEC, internet penetration reached 32.57% in 2023, while the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) places it at 20.4%. However, these figures must be considered in light of economic barriers that limit adoption.

The GSMA notes that the high cost of data remains a major obstacle to mobile internet adoption across Africa. In Madagascar, monthly spending on mobile internet represented 6.28% of gross national income per capita in 2023, according to the ITU. While this is down sharply from 52% in 2014, it is still three times higher than the 2% affordability threshold set by the organization. For comparison, the ratio stands at 4.48% for Africa and 1.24% globally, based on the same source.

Isaac K. Kassouwi