Cameroon for many years was one of the few countries in Africa with only two competing mobile operators. After some delays, Viettel Cameroon launched a third network and has since grown its subscriber base rapidly. Camtel became the fourth mobile operator in early 2020 after securing three licences. The investment programs among operators over the next few years will considerably boost mobile broadband services in rural areas of the country, many of which are underserved by fixed-line infrastructure.
The ICT sector in Cameroon is making steady progress, enabling the country to make better use of the digital economy. About 95% of all electronic transactions are carried through the m-money services operated by MTN Cameroon and Orange Cameroon. The government has also been supportive, having launched its ‘Cameroon Digital 2020’ program, aimed at improving connectivity nationally. A large number of small ICT projects form part of the overall program. Improved submarine and terrestrial cable connectivity has substantially increased international bandwidth, in turn leading to reductions in access prices for consumers.
The four present operators are MTN Cameroon, Orange Cameroon (previously Airtel), Nexttel (by Viettel) and Camtel (Cameroon Telecommunications - CDMA and LTE)
Nexttel (majority-owned by Viettel)was launched as a 3rd network in 2014, including the country’s first 3G mobile service. The operator has grown swiftly, signing up 2 million subscribers and gaining market share. Competition in 3G followed in early 2015 when both MTN and Orange launched services. Mobile broadband based on 4G/LTE was established at the end of 2015 and this has been the catalyst for a fast-developing mobile broadband sector. The investment programs among operators over the next few years will boost mobile broadband services in rural areas of the country. At the tail end of this ranking is the historical operator, Camtel, sole landline phone operator of the country, which has shrunk to 1.4% of the phone market, but launched a new 4G/LTE network.
MTN Cameroon is the country's biggest operator with a 37 per cent market share at the end of June 2021 (says Omdia research). Orange Cameroon has 35.5 per cent and Nexttel 25.5 per cent. Camtel Cameroon has less than two per cent of the nation’s subscribers.
MTN is still the market leader in the country with over 10 million mobile subscribers. According to the 2019 report by Rohde & Schwarz, which audited the performance of 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G mobile networks, concluded the MTN network as the best in Cameroon for data and voice quality.
MTN Cameroon have applied for permission to deploy and operate a trial 5G network. The operator has submitted a request to the Telecommunications Regulatory Board (Agence de Regulation des Telecommunications, ART) for a relevant licence to test 5G services in the country. MTN said the move is aimed at ‘giving Cameroonians access to more modern uses of information and communication technologies’.
At the end of December 2020, Orange Cameroon’s subscriber base was 9.26 million, against 7.87 million at the end of 2019 and 6.9 million subscribers at the end of 2018.
Orange Cameroon claims to be the leader of the 4G technology, ahead of MTN Cameroon, Nexttel, and Camtel. It also believes to have covered 79% of the Cameroonian population with 3G.
They have increased the speed and capacity of its LTE-A network in certain parts of the country. In order to use the new service, which is described by the operator as ‘4.75G’, customers require a compatible handset or device. Nokia and Orange embarked on a major 4G LTE regional rollout in 2018, which saw the Finnish vendor upgrade the cellco’s radio access network to enhance mobile broadband services. In January 2020 Orange launched LTE-A (referred to by the company as ‘4.5G’) in a number of towns and cities, including Douala, Yaounde, Mbankomo, Sangmelima, Mbalmayo, Ngaoundere, Bafia, Garoua-Boulai, Bandjoun, Bangangte, Ferme-Suisse, Mbanga, Yop and Mengbwa.
Nexttel (owned by Viettel) started in 2014 in Cameroon. Two years later it had already 2.5 million subscribers, presently it has approx. 5 million. It has the most aggressive pricing.
Nexttel General Manager Benoit Yaoussou announced recently that they will roll out their own mobile money service called Nexttel Possa before the end of 2021.Yaoussou said the company will also prioritise the extension and stabilisation of its network. Nexttel already covers over 75%mof the national territory, particularly rural areas.
Camtel is Cameroon’s fixed line monopoly operator which has a limited network based on CDMA/EVDO called Fako that is migrating to GSM. In 2016 they rolled out their 4G/LTE network called "X-TremNet" on 1800 MHz (band 3).
Their Fako network is quite unreliable, based on CDMA, not compatible to GSM devices and can't be recommeded. However, their 4G/LTE XTremNet network can be a cheap option, if you have coverage. Douala and Yaoundé are covered only so far: 4G coverage list. Because of the limited coverage, it can't be an option for travelling, but may be an option for stationary use in Douala and Yaoundé. Speeds of around 50 Mbps have been reported. Have in mind, that there is no fallback or roaming on 2G/3G networks.
Related Post:
- Operator Watch Blog - Orange: Leading the way in Cameroon
- Operator Watch Blog - Cameroon: Issues and Development
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