Executive summary
This is the third RIA Sector Performance Review (SPR) for the information and communication technology (ICT) sector in Cameroon. The first SPR, published in 2008, generated debates and research relating to RIA’s contentions regarding the country’s ICT performance. The second set of RIA Cameroon ICT data, captured in 2010 returned to the trends underscored in the first country report. Development of this third SPR, for 2012, took place while Cameroon was gearing, to some extent on the basis of the recommendations put forward by RIA, towards a new phase of ICT sector development. The current Minister, appointed as the head of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MINPOSTEL) three years ago, has made it a point of honour to bring more competition to the mobile sector and to improve the telecommunications regulatory landscape.
An outsourced professional social research provider collected the RIA ICT Survey data outlined in this report. 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 fixed- line 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…
