Chad’s government has renewed pressure on mobile and internet operators to improve service quality after regulatory audits revealed persistent outages, coverage gaps and infrastructure weaknesses across the country.
Prime Minister Allah Maye Halina raised the issue during a high-level review of the telecommunications and digital economy sector on Monday, warning that citizens continue to face unreliable services despite repeated commitments by operators to invest.
“Efforts have been made, but significant gaps remain,” Halina said, according to officials present at the meeting. He stressed that consumers judge the sector not by promises or investment plans, but by the quality and continuity of the services they receive.
Telecommunications have become a sensitive political and economic issue in Chad, where mobile networks are often the primary means of communication and access to digital services. Users regularly complain of dropped calls, slow internet speeds, frequent outages and patchy coverage, particularly outside major urban centres.
Halina highlighted the limited rollout of fibre-optic infrastructure, noting that large parts of the country especially in the north and south remain poorly connected. He called for stricter enforcement of quality standards and closer monitoring of operators’ performance.
The renewed pressure follows the publication of findings from the 15th service-quality audit carried out by the Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority (ARCEP). The audit, launched in September and completed in October, assessed network performance nationwide and identified recurring deficiencies.
According to ARCEP, while some improvements were recorded particularly in signal stability in parts of the capital and other large cities — major weaknesses persist. These include faulty or aging equipment, inadequate maintenance, chronic power supply problems and entire sites that are partially or completely out of service.
Regulators say the audits are intended to compel operators to correct shortcomings and meet their licence obligations. However, consumer groups argue that enforcement has been too lenient and that repeated audits have not translated into sustained improvements.
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Some consumer advocates have called for tougher sanctions, including financial penalties for operators that fail to meet service benchmarks, shorter deadlines for compliance and, in extreme cases, the withdrawal of licences from repeat offenders. Others have urged the government to open the market to new entrants in order to boost competition and drive improvements in quality and pricing.
Telecom operators, for their part, say they are investing heavily but face structural constraints. Airtel Chad, one of the country’s main operators, has announced a major investment programme worth 50 billion CFA francs, equivalent to about US$83 million, running through June 2026.
The company said the funds will be used to upgrade microwave transmission links, deploy new towers to expand coverage, extend fibre-optic networks and replace parts of its network core. Similar, though less detailed, commitments have been made by other operators active in the market.
Despite these pledges, both the government and regulators acknowledge that some of the challenges lie beyond the direct control of telecom firms. Chad is a landlocked country with limited access to international connectivity and currently relies on a single international gateway via Cameroon for much of its data traffic.
This dependence makes the country vulnerable to disruptions and capacity constraints, affecting internet speeds and service reliability nationwide. Authorities say they are working to diversify international links by developing alternative connections through neighbouring countries, including Niger, Nigeria, Algeria, Libya and Egypt.
The expansion of cross-border fibre links is seen as critical to improving resilience, reducing costs and supporting Chad’s broader digital ambitions, including e-government services, digital payments and online education.
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The telecom sector review comes as Chad seeks to modernise its economy and improve access to digital services in a country where infrastructure deficits remain severe. Officials say reliable telecommunications are essential not only for consumers, but also for attracting investment, improving public services and supporting security operations in remote regions.
For now, the government has stopped short of announcing punitive measures, but Halina’s remarks signal a tougher stance. “Quality of service is not optional,” a senior official said after the meeting. “It is a requirement.”
Whether renewed political pressure, regulatory audits and promised investments will translate into tangible improvements for Chadian consumers remains an open question, as frustrations over connectivity continue to mount.
