3.4 Cameroon Telecommunications | Digital Logistics Capacity Assessments

The Agency for the Regulations of Telecommunications (ART) was created in 1998 to regulate telecommunications.

Guarantee a fair and transparent competition amongst companies of telecommunications;
Develop a wide access to the New Technology of Communication (NTC) to a large public.

The Agency has representations in Yaoundé, Douala and Garoua. It is relatively easy to subscribe a line with any dealer or commercial agent of one of the below mobile telephone providers. Only an ID card is needed for subscriber identification. The major companies in the mobile market in Cameroon are:

ORANGE: covered 10 Regions - 38.1% of mobile subscribers as of January 2018
MTN (South African Mobile Telecommunication Network) covered 10 regions - 37.3% of mobile subscribers as of January 2018
NEXTTEL: covered 10 regions - 23.6% of subscribers as of January 2018
CAMTEL (the Cameroon mobile telecommunication company): covered 10 regions - 1% of subscribers as of January 2018

This attachment provides a snapshot of digital statistical indicators.

Source: Le Mobile Au Kamer

A number of companies are now moving into local Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT). Systems for data transmission, international telephone service and Internet access.

For more information on telecoms contacts, please see the following link: 4.11 Cameroon Additional Services Contact List

Telephone Services
Is there an existing landline telephone network?	Yes
Does it allow international calls?	Yes
Number and Length of Downtime Periods (on average)	Downtime periods not frequent. When it occurs due to technical operations, it can last for a short period within a day
Mobile Phone Providers	The major companies in the mobile market in Cameroon are MTN, ORANGE, CAMTEL, and NEXTTEL.
Approximate Percentage of National Coverage	100% availability within the 10 Regions for a coverage of 71.18% of the population.

Telecommunication Regulation

For ICT equipment (V-SAT and radio etc.) importation in Cameroon, a request for homologation of the devices should be addressed to ART (Regulating Authority) before it is used in the country.

Regulations on Usage and Import
	Regulations in Place?	Regulating Authority
Satellite	Yes	ART
HF Radio	Yes	ART
UHF/VHF/HF Radio: Handheld, Base and Mobile	Yes	ART
UHF/VHF Repeaters	Yes	ART
GPS	No	N/A
VSAT	Yes	ART
Individual Network Operator Licenses Required
Raise a request to ART - Agency for the Regulation of Telecommunications – Website: www.art.cm Further to the request, an agreement assigning a frequency to the applicant is granted. It should be mentioned that some fees have to be paid for the request and each year for the use of the frequency and V-SAT. All forms to be used for application are available at the following link: http://www.art.cm/guichet.php
Frequency Licenses Required
VHF frequencies, HF frequencies, repeaters and VSAT

Existing Humanitarian Telecoms Systems

Existing UN Telecommunication Systems
	UNDP	WFP	UNHCR	FICR	MSF
VHF Frequencies	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
HF Frequencies	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Locations of Repeaters	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	N/A
VSAT	Yes	Yes	Yes		No