ARPCE Congo Urges Airtel, MTN to Fix Failing Networks After Nationwide Quality Audit

The Congolese Postal and Electronic Communications Regulatory Agency (ARPCE)  has strongly urged operators Airtel and MTN to significantly improve the quality of their mobile services. This position was expressed following the meeting to present the results of the first major campaign to assess the quality of service (QoS) of mobile networks for the year 2025, held on May 16 at the Institution’s headquarters in Brazzaville.

Conducted from February 23 to April 14, 2025, this campaign covered several strategic areas of the national territory, including the RN1 and RN2 highways, the localities of Up Country South (Mouyondzi, Madingou, Nkayi, Dolisie), those of Up Country North (Gamboma, Oyo, Owando, Ouesso), as well as the two major urban areas of Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire.

The presentation of the results, provided by the Director of Electronic Communications Networks and Services, Mr. Benjamin MOUANDZA, highlighted a worrying situation. Indeed, across all the areas assessed, performance indicators reveal a clear decline in service quality, affecting both the continuity of communications and the stability of the user experience, compared to the campaign conducted last year at the same time. The failures are particularly notable on the RN1 and RN2 highways, considered critical for national interconnection and user mobility.

Furthermore, the roaming tests carried out on these roads did not validate the effective operation of services on the sites declared as roaming by the operators. This situation is deemed unacceptable in light of current regulatory obligations.

Responding to the Regulators’ questions about the shortcomings observed, experts from the two operators acknowledged certain malfunctions, while providing explanations.

MTN mentioned work they are carrying out to add capacity in the cities of Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire, which had not yet fully produced its effects at the time of testing. The dominant operator in the telephone market has requested a detailed list of critical areas from the ARPCE in order to implement a targeted optimization plan, the transmission of which is announced as soon as possible.

For its part, Airtel presented a set of technical constraints affecting the quality of service in several regions. “On the coast, for example,” explained Airtel’s Legal and Regulatory Director, Mr. Max BOUHOYI, “persistent interference with the networks of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on the 2100 MHz band disrupts signal transmission. An audit report has been sent to the ARPCE, with a view to mediation or cross-border coordination.” Like its competitor, Airtel promised to submit to the Regulator in the next few days an optimization plan aimed at correcting these shortcomings observed on its network.

In conclusion of this meeting, Mr. Benjamin MOUANDZA reiterated the importance for operators to notify the ARPCE in advance of any project or technical intervention likely to have an impact on the quality of services, in order to guarantee a fair and contextualized assessment.

For his part, Director of Legal and International Affairs, Mr. Célestin ENDOKE, invited to this meeting with two other Central Directors, insisted on the regulatory obligation to make national roaming effective, particularly on the RN1 and RN2 corridors. He emphasized that failure to comply with this provision exposes operators to coercive measures provided for by law.

It should be emphasized that through this rigorous evaluation campaign, ARPCE reaffirms its commitment to guaranteeing electronic communications users a quality, stable and accessible service throughout the territory. To this end, it calls on operators to be more responsive and to collaborate more structuredly in resolving technical issues.