Agence Ecofin reports that Tigo Senegal has successfully completed the identification of its entire mobile subscriber base, in compliance with the regulator, Agence de Regulation des Telecoms et Postes’ (ARTP’s), revised 18 August 2013 deadline.
According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, Senegal launched the identification scheme on 20 June, managed by ARTP, which was expected to take about a month to complete and was originally set to close on 31 July. However, the deadline was pushed back following requests for more time from the three incumbents, Tigo, Orange Senegal and Sudatel Senegal (Expresso). Speaking in June this year, ARTP chief executive Abu Lo said the country had decided to adopt recommendations laid out by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) – adopted in 2007 – that require domestic cellcos to identify who is using their mobile services in order to provide more reliable statistics on the market, improve security and tackle the grey market for phones. The CEO said that six years after adopting the decree, Senegal’s wireless service providers have failed to complete the mobile identification scheme and that enough is enough. It is understood that Orange Senegal, Tigo Senegal and Sudatel Senegal (Expresso) have deployed teams across the country to complete the process by the July deadline.