Telecommunications Regulatory Board head office.

Cameroon's telecoms regulator is ready to launch a debt recovery operation to collect more than $52 million from several mobile network operators in the country, citing recurrent regulatory breaches and failure to comply with licensing requirements.

An official from the Telecommunications Regulatory Board (TRB) told ITWeb Africa that the outstanding sum is due to unpaid license fees and different unpaid financial penalties stretching back years.

According to the telecom watchdog, recovery efforts are being stepped up as part of a larger push to enforce responsibility, respect for market rules, and require operators to execute their commitments to guarantee a fair and competitive environment.

TRB management stated that it had taken steps to put the "preferential right of the treasury" into practice, which allows it to take coercive action against debtors.

"The board approved the practical conditions for making the treasury's preferential right operational in a context whereby the TRB has recorded sizeable debts owed by concession operators, licensed operators, and other actors in the telecommunications landscape," said Justine Diffo, TRB board chair, at the end of an extraordinary meeting in Ebolowa.

While TRB did not name specific businesses, industry sources believe the measure may affect major operators such as MTN Cameroon, Orange Cameroon, and Camtel, who have previously faced sanctions for concerns ranging from failure or irregular sim card registration to inadequate network coverage.

In 2023, the regulator punished four telecom companies a total of 6 billion francs CFA (about $9.7 million) for ongoing network coverage and quality of service issues.

Orange Cameroon received the highest penalty at the time, $3.5 million, followed by Nexttel ($2.4 million), MTN Cameroon ($2.2 million), and state-owned Camtel ($1.2 million).

The regulator's recent recovery move comes amid rising consumer dissatisfaction with call quality, internet speeds, and exorbitant mobile service charges.

It also corresponds with ongoing government initiatives to improve governance of the digital economy and encourage more infrastructure investment.

The operators had not responded to the regulator at the time of publishing.