Following a mobile network QoS and coverage audit conducted between August and November of this year, Senegal’s Regulation Authority for Telecommunications and Posts (L’Autorite de Regulation des Telecommunications et des Postes, ARTP) has announced the country’s three mobile network operators – Sonatel (Orange Senegal), Free (Saga Africa Holdings) and Expresso Senegal – have been fined a total of XOF20.284 billion (USD35 million) for failing to respect the terms of their operating licences.
In a press release regarding the matter the regulator revealed that Sonatel has been ordered to pay XOF16.727 billion, Free XOF2.258 billion and Expresso XOF1.028 billion, in accordance with article 177 of the Electronic Communications Code. The ARTP said the sanctions follow a major campaign to measure the quality of service and coverage of 2G, 3G and 4G mobile networks operated across the entire national territory, namely the country’s 46 departments, major roads and the ILA Touba and Dakar-Mbour highways. In response, Sonatel and Free have contested the audit findings and highlighted the significant investment they have made in their networks in recent years.