Cameroonians decry network disruptions; MTN blames degraded fibers

For days, MTN Cameroon service users have faced persistent network disruptions, experiencing slow Internet speeds, frequent call drops, and failed subscription attempts.

While network problems are not uncommon in Cameroon, these issues have worsened in the recent days, leaving many customers frustrated and inconvenienced.

“The network has really been terrible during the past days,” says Juvenance Ngam, a resident of Buea.

“I don’t know if it’s the heavy rain that has been falling. To make a normal WhatsApp call is difficult, not to talk of a video call.”

This worry is echoed by many other MTN users in Buea.

Nivolius Godwin Assah, another user from Buea, told MMI the difficulties he has faced with basic mobile services for the last one week.

“Yesterday I struggled to subscribe to a bundle using YaMo and it was only failing. Even using mobile money was very slow. At times you’ll want to activate a bundle through MoMo and it fails. I had to try many times before I succeeded. It’s really terrible,” he said.

The disruptions have particularly impacted those whose jobs rely heavily on Internet connectivity.

Awa Hilton, a software developer based in Buea, recounted his experience with poor connections.

“The other day I was trying to open a website but it took several minutes to load and ended up failing. But I had enough data,” he said.

“When I went to Mile 17 the network was better but at my cite it is very poor,” he added.

In response to the growing discontent, MTN Cameroon, one of the country’s leading mobile network operators, sent out messages to users on Monday, July 22, apologizing for the disruptions.

“Dear Customer, following an optical fiber incident between Yaoundé and Douala, our network is temporarily degraded. We apologize for the inconvenience,” read a message sent to subscribers.

However, the company did not provide specific details on the cause of the optical fiber degradation or a timeline for repairs.

The situation has put MTN Cameroon’s commitment to its customers under scrutiny.

In May last year, alongside Orange Cameroon, MTN was summoned by the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications following widespread complaints about poor service quality.

In response to the meeting, MTN issued a release stating that it was finalizing its 2023 network investment plan to provide customers with a “better quality experience.”

Despite these assurances, the current reality seems to contradict the company’s promises.

On May 25, 2023, Cameroon’s telecommunications regulatory agency fined MTN the sum of FCFA 1.4 billion for failing to fulfill its obligations of providing good quality services between 2022 and 2023.

Other network providers such as Orange, Camtel and Nextel were equally fined. But the internet problems are far from over despite the sanctions.

©Mimi Mefo Info