• Chad’s prime minister presses telecom operators to improve service quality

• Regulator audits reveal persistent outages, coverage gaps and weak infrastructure

• Operators pledge investment, but connectivity constraints remain

Chadian Prime Minister Allah Maye Halina has renewed pressure on telecom operators to improve service quality, citing persistent shortcomings that continue to affect consumers.

The issue dominated a sector review meeting on telecommunications and the digital economy chaired by Halina on Monday.

Despite efforts made, gaps remain, particularly in service quality, the prime minister said, pointing to recurring service disruptions and stressing that citizens judge performance based on the services they receive.

Halina also flagged the limited rollout of fibre-optic infrastructure, especially in the north and south of the country, and called for stricter quality control.

The renewed pressure comes amid persistent consumer complaints over dropped calls, slow internet speeds, frequent outages and patchy network coverage nationwide.

In October, the Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority (ARCEP) completed its 15th service-quality audit, launched in September. The regulator said the audit would be used to force operators to address shortcomings.

Consumers have meanwhile called for tougher measures, including deterrent taxes for failure to meet commitments, short compliance deadlines and, in cases of repeated breaches, the revocation of licences and their transfer to a national operator capable of rapidly covering the entire country. Some have also urged authorities to open the market to new entrants to boost competition.

According to the regulator, the audit showed improved signal stability in several urban centres, reflecting operators’ investment efforts. It said significant weaknesses persist, including faulty equipment, inadequate maintenance, power supply problems and sites that are completely out of service.

Operators say they are investing. Airtel, for example, plans to invest 50 billion CFA francs ($83 million) in a programme running through June 2026, covering upgrades to microwave links, the deployment of new towers to expand coverage, fibre-optic development and replacement of the network core.

Some constraints, however, lie beyond the operators’ control. Chad’s access to international connectivity remains limited, with the landlocked country relying on a single access point via Cameroon. Authorities are working on alternative links to Niger, Nigeria, Algeria, Libya and Egypt, among others.

Isaac K. Kassouwi