Senegal’s telecoms regulator has reduced fines imposed on operators Sonatel, Free and Expresso Senegal, but demands they allocate funds to improve coverage and service quality.
ARTP (L’Autorite de Regulation des Telecommunications et des Postes) fined the operators in December 2020 a total of XOF20.284 billion (US$35 million), after discovering the three breached license terms by failing quality of service stipulations.
Now the operators must develop new plans with fresh funds to improve service by the end of 2023.
CommsUpdate reported, that Orange-owned Sonatel was fined originally XOF16.727 billion (US$27.5 million) but will now have to pay XOF2.51 billion and invest XOF20 billion. Free, which is owned by Saga Africa Holdings initially was fined XOF2.25 billion, will now pay XOF436 million and invest XOF1.7 billion, while Expresso (initially XOF1 billion) will now pay XOF192 million and invest XOF1.19 billion.
ARTP will be using a monitoring and control system to ensure the operators honour their commitments which will be paid for by the telcos.
The regulator noted that revising its sanctions will compel operators to modernise their network and boost performance for all customers, regardless of their location.