Agence Ecofin reports that a group of Senegalese MPs has asked the government not to renew the licence of mobile operator Orange Senegal until it makes a commitment to provide assurances that it will improve its quality of service (QoS). The cellco, which is part of the Sonatel Group, has been accused by the parliamentary members of failing to address defects on its networks – despite being the largest player in the market – resulting in poor service, poor network coverage, high internet access costs and numerous network failures. With Orange hoping to renew the concession when it expires in 2016, MPs are asking that the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MINPOSTEL) and the Regulation Authority of Post and Telecoms (L’Autorite de Regulation des Telecommunications et des Postes, ARTP) ensure it agrees to do more to address the defects before getting its request authorised.
That said, the MPs involved are not restricting their criticism to Orange alone, noting that the two other incumbent cellcos, Tigo and Expresso, need to redouble their efforts to expand their network across all administrative counties in Senegal.