Cameroon’s telecommunications industry regulator, the Telecommunications Regulatory Board (TRB) has warned MNOs to restore optimal provision of services without delay or they will be fined.

The TRB has served notices to Camtel, MTN Cameroon, Orange Cameroun and Viettel (Nexttel).

In a statement released by the regulator, TRB General Manager Philemon Zoo Zame said the watchdog had noticed “serious shortcomings” following its assessment of the situation.

In addition to flaws in the quality of service, Zame said there were discrepancies regarding coverage and performance of access networks, tariff offers and the use of radio frequencies.

“Therefore, formal notices were served on the operators Orange Cameroon, MTN Cameroon, Viettel and Camtel for them to immediately take action to remedy the situation which is detrimental to consumers of electronic communication products and services,” Zame added.

The TRB said it had received hundreds of complaints from aggrieved users.

Guy Ntam, a network user in Yaounde, vented his frustration: “Messaging apps will take several minutes to load, that’s if at all they will load. The network difficulties are really giving me a difficult time as I can’t go about my business as usual. And in all of these, the operator will mercilessly slash your data.”

Zame warned of swift consequences by the regulator should operators fail to comply.

Under a 2010 law governing electronics communications in Cameroon, modified in 2015, operators can face between FCFA 100-million and FCFA 200-million in fines for failing to respect their terms of services.

None of the MNOs had responded to questions or provided comment at the time of publishing.