Togo’s telecoms regulator has announced sweeping consumer-focused reforms that will allow mobile subscribers to roll over unused data and voice credit while tightening billing transparency requirements for operators.
The Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques et des postes (ARCEP) said the new rules apply to the country’s two main mobile operators, Yas Togo and Moov Africa Togo. The measures cover data rollover, billing precision and SIM card validity.
Under the new framework, consumers will be able to carry forward unused voice and data from expired mobile plans. For plans with a validity period of 10 days or less, a 10-day grace period will apply. For plans lasting longer than 10 days, subscribers will have a 30-day grace period. However, unused balances can only be reclaimed if customers renew the same plan.
ARCEP said the reform aims to strengthen consumer protection and reduce losses from unused subscriptions. The regulator also introduced stricter billing standards, requiring operators to charge mobile internet usage exclusively in bytes, the smallest standard unit of data measurement, rather than rounding up usage to larger units. According to ARCEP, this approach ensures that billing more accurately reflects actual consumption.
In addition, the validity period for inactive SIM cards has been extended from three months to six months. The regulator clarified that remaining airtime on a subscriber’s main account will not expire as long as the SIM card remains active.
ARCEP said the reforms were adopted after consultations with telecom operators and consumer advocacy groups, including the Ligue des consommateurs du Togo, the Association Togolaise des Consommateurs, and the Mouvement Martin Luther King.
The regulator noted that the changes bring Togo in line with regional peers such as Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso, which have already implemented regulations on mobile plan validity periods. ARCEP added that Togo is currently the only country in the sub-region to mandate billing strictly in bytes.
The move is expected to reshape competition in Togo’s telecom market by increasing transparency and enhancing consumer rights. For subscribers, the reforms offer greater flexibility and reduced risk of losing unused data or credit, an issue that has long been a source of complaints in several African markets.
MTN expands digital infrastructure services to African telecom operators
