• Niger’s telecom regulator launched a real-time monitoring platform to strengthen technical, economic, and regulatory oversight of mobile networks.
• Mobile penetration edged down to 59.73% in early 2025, while internet penetration jumped to 40% in one quarter.
• Authorities aim to use the platform to improve service quality, market transparency, and public revenue collection.

The Niger Telecommunications and Post Regulatory Authority (ARCEP) has strengthened its supervision capabilities over the telecommunications sector. On Wednesday, January 28, in Niamey, the authority inaugurated a continuous mobile network monitoring platform designed to ensure permanent market oversight across technical, economic, and regulatory dimensions.

“Through this major achievement, Niger clearly affirms its determination to fully regain control of its digital destiny, to strengthen the authority of the State in regulating strategic sectors, and to make technology a lever for sovereignty, justice, and development,” Aissatou Abdoulaye Tondi, Minister of Public Service, Labour, and Employment, said while representing the Prime Minister.

On the operational level, the platform relies on three integrated technical tools. The first, TRAFSCAN, provides automated and continuous collection of data related to voice, data, and SMS traffic, as well as generated revenues. This system gives ARCEP a precise view of the market’s economic performance.

QUALCOP, for its part, enables ongoing assessment of quality of service by monitoring network coverage, radio site availability, and key performance indicators. NETFIX, meanwhile, centralizes the management of critical electronic communications infrastructure, particularly fiber-optic networks.

According to the latest data published by ARCEP, Niger’s telecommunications market remains dynamic despite a slight slowdown in mobile telephony. At the end of the first quarter of 2025, the number of mobile subscribers reached 16.8 million, translating into a penetration rate of 59.73%, compared with 60.70% at the end of 2024.

By contrast, the internet segment recorded strong growth. The number of subscribers reached 11.2 million users, including 8.3 million mobile internet subscribers. This trend reflects an increase of 2.8 million new subscribers compared with the end of 2024. As a result, internet penetration rose to 40%, from 34% previously, marking a six-point increase in a single quarter.

In this context of rapidly expanding digital usage, the commissioning of the continuous monitoring platform appears as a strategic solution for the regulator. The system should allow ARCEP to enhance market transparency, improve monitoring of operators’ obligations, and rely on robust indicators to guide regulatory decisions.

Over the longer term, the tool is also expected to contribute to better quality of service for users, optimized public revenues from the sector, and more effective regulation of a market considered essential to Niger’s digital transformation and economic development.

This article was initially published in French by Samira Njoya

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de BERRY QUENUM