Cameroon

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Cameroon was for many years one of the few countries in Africa with only two competing mobile operators, MTN and Orange. After some delays, Nextell majority-owned by Viettel) launched a 3rd network in late 2014, including the country’s first 3G mobile ervice. The operator has grown swiftly, signing up more than three million subscribers and claiming a 16% market share. Competition in 3G followed in early 2015 when both MTN and Orange launched services. Mobile broadband based on LTE was established at the end of 2015 and this has been the catalyst for a fast-developing mobile broadband sector. The investment programs among operators over the next few years will considerably boost mobile broadband services in rural areas of the country, many of which are underserved by fixed-line infrastructure.

According to statistics from the Telecoms Regulatory Agency (ART in French), the telephone sector in Cameroon had 16.8 million subscribers (out of a population of 22 million inhabitants) as at end September 2015, against 16.6 million in 2014. This development is mainly due to the increase in the mobile telephone penetration rate, which now reaches 80% against 71% in 2014, according to the telecoms regulatory authority.

The couple made of the South African operator MTN and the French group Orange continues to lay down the law on the mobile market and telephone market at large, with 93.8% of market shares for both. In detail, MTN grabs 57.04% of the market, against 36.8% for Orange.

The newest arrival on the market, Vietnamese operator Viettel which operates under the Nexttel brand, takes 4.66% of market share, a little over one year after launching its operations. At the tail end of this ranking established by ART is the historical operator, Camtel, sole landline telephone operator of the country, who commands 1.4% of the telephone market in Cameroon.

However, we learned from the telecoms authority's statistics, the number of subscribers to the public operator, who should soon make use of its mobile licence, now reaches 412,000 clients, after stagnating for a long time at 22,000.

Providers Further: Vodafone-Africell (license suspended in Sep. 2017), YooMee (Wimax, LTE offer as MVNO on Camtel)
 * MTN Cameroon
 * Orange Cameroon (previously Airtel)
 * Nexttel (by Viettel)
 * CamTel

LTE launch in 2015, GSM 900, 1800, 3G: 2100, 4G: ?

Speed test ookla : MTN 15 mbits, Orange 6 mbits, Nexttel 3 mbits

The country will greatly benefit from the SAIL submarine cable providing a direct link to Brazil, and so onto other countries in the Americas. The cable, expected to be ready for service in late 2018, will improve international bandwidth and lead to further reductions in access prices for consumers.

new rules in 2015:

TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database notes that a new decree was introduced in September 2015 to reinforce and clarify the procedures related to the identification of mobile subscribers in the country. The new rules prohibit the sale of SIM cards by street dealers, meaning that mobile operators must set up authorised retail outlets or sign official partnership deals with retailers to sell SIMs. In addition, the decree limits subscriber SIM ownership to three cards per operator.

It's easy to buy a SIM card for an unlocked mobile phone to make local calls while in Cameroon.

MTN: 4G coverage: https://www.mtncameroon.net/en/internet/enjoy-the-fastest-internet-in-cameroon/check-the-network-coverage/

Nexttel: started in Sept. 2014, two years later 2.5 mio subscribers, countries first 3G in 2014, LTE trials

CamTel: Cameroon’s fixed line monopoly operator, rollout 2015, limited network