Report

Understanding what is Happening in ICT in Cameroon: A Supply- and Demand-side Analysis of the ICT Sector

The general finding after data collection and analysis it is that there has been no significant breaking of new ground in recent years in terms of ICT sector performance in Cameroon. While some sector dimensions have seen some slight improvement, generally the sector has not lived up to expectations in terms of job and wealth creation, and in some respects (e.g. quality of service [QoS]) the sector has deteriorated. The mobile sector has remained a duopoly held by MTN and Orange, which has affected the dynamism of the whole sector to a great extent and has maintained very high costs for telecommunications services. Meanwhile, the fixedline service provided by the incumbent CAMTEL is perishing, and the national objective of providing universal and affordable access to a full range of communications services is yet to become a reality. The average monthly expenditure on telecommunications services in Cameroon stands at around CFAf2 7001 per month per customer, with no significant difference in average expenditure between users in urban or rural areas. But
while the urban-rural divide in access to voice services is decreasing, the divide remains high for internet access.