The Republic of Congo’s telecoms watchdog issued a formal notice to Airtel and MTN regarding the failure to register an adequate rate of SIM cards to subscribers.
In a statement, L’Agence de Regulation des Postes et des Communications Electroniques (ARPCE), said it “deplored” the non-compliance of the two incumbent operators in identifying subscribers of mobile services despite multiple formal notices.
ARPCE conducted a subscriber identification check between July 4 to August 4 this year in 16 locations nationwide. It found the operators had not registered an acceptable number of registered subscribers.
Airtel Congo registered on average 40% of subscribers, this was better than in 2022 when only 19% were registered. Meanwhile, MTN registered 48% this year maintaining from 2022.
However, the operators did achieve 100% registration in certain locations. Kinkala saw all subscribers registered, with the same figure achieved in Ngo for Airtel and Gamboma for MTN.
Director of Electronic Communications Networks and Services Benjamin Mouandza noted there was a general weakness in the identification process, and the ban on selling pre-activated SIM cards as decreed by law was not being respected by Airtel and MTN.
Airtel and MTN have acknowledged difficulties in registering subscribers stressing that "our current solutions have shown their limits", ARPCE stated.