The Telecommunications and Posts Regulatory Agency (Artp) recently fined cell phone companies heavily for breaches in the quality of service offered to users. Following the decision of Artp, CICODEV conducted a survey among Senegalese which confirms the conclusions of the regulatory body.
Following the study of the Agency for the Regulation of Telecommunications and Posts (Artp), which revealed a poor quality of service of mobile operators throughout the national territory, except for the Dakar region, CICODEV as a consumer association, had initiated a study at the household level.
This survey, conducted by its focal points, took place in the 14 regions of Senegal, with 100 users interviewed in each region. Some regions slightly exceeded this number. It reached a total of 1473 users, distributed according to the operators. It was conducted from Tuesday, December 21 to Thursday, December 30, 2021, and reached 1,473 users, including 847 men and 626 women in urban (1,306), peri-urban (92) and rural (75) areas.
All socio-professional categories were affected. On the problematic services of the operators, the survey conducted by CICODEV Africa revealed that 47% of the users have a problem with the network against 43% who reveal to encounter difficulties in the access to internet and only 1% who encounter difficulties with the messaging service. Only 9% of those surveyed said they had no problems with the operators’ services. Regarding the quality of service, the survey revealed that only 30% of users considered the quality to be good, against 48% who found it acceptable and 22% who described it as poor.
With regard to the sanctions imposed on the various operators, the survey showed that 58.6% consider that they are deserved, 13% find them weak and should have been higher. On the other hand, 22% consider these sanctions to be too high, while only 5% find them unjust.
After reading this survey, CICODEV Africa urges operators to improve the quality of services (Network, Internet and Sms) in their coverage areas. It is also recommended that they improve the geographical and financial accessibility of cell phone services for the benefit of their users.
Returning to the Artp, CICODEV asks him to bring the Fdsut to ensure its mission of network coverage of white areas, with investments financed by contributions from operators.