State-owned telco, Cameroon Telecommunications, (CAMTEL), has refuted allegations that it is responsible for the deterioration in the quality of electronic communications on the Orange Cameroun network.
In a press release published by Cameroon Eco-Business news portal, Orange Cameroun, a subsidiary of the French multinational telecommunications company, Orange blamed the persistent deterioration of its network on recurrent cuts of the optical fibre transmission links provided by the incumbent telecom company of Cameroon, CAMTEL.
According to the article, Orange Cameroun in, a communique, accused CAMTEL of being responsible for over 15 disruptions and cuts on their optical fibre lines since February 1, 2025.
These disruptions, the article revealed, have perturbed internet connections and telephone calls in several parts of the country, particularly the Far North, South West, East, South, North and Adamawa regions.
The accusation, according to CAMTEL is unfounded. In a rebuttal on Monday, February 17, the General Manager of CAMTEL, Judith Yah Sunday epse Achidi said the telecom firm she heads was “outraged by these statements aimed at discrediting the quality of its transport network”. She said Orange Cameroun is facing the consequences of its choices.
The CAMTEL GM clarified in her press release that Orange Cameroun’s network is built on dark fibre, an asset over which CAMTEL has no visibility.
Dark fibre, per CAMTEL, doesn’t guarantee stability in the event of disruption on the optical fibre network it supplies to all the mobile operators in Cameroon. However, Orange Cameroun has refused to embrace other options.
While solutions such as managed capabilities automatically offer redundancy in the event of a fault or disruptions on the optical fibre cable and guarantee permanent availability of services, CAMTEL says Orange Cameroun has deliberately refused to use these solutions and insists on remaining on dark fibre.
“Consequently, CAMTEL cannot be held responsible for the deterioration of a customer’s network resulting from the limitations of the technical solutions the said customer chooses to deploy,” part of press release by the CAMTEL GM reads.
It clarifies that all mobile operators in Cameroon use the same transport network, but each operator is responsible for the redundancy strategy it chooses to deploy for its various sites and at its own convenience.
Regarding the Orange site at Zoetele in particular which experienced disruptions on February 14, 2025, CAMTEL emphasised that it’s the last mile connection of the said site that was affected. “Given that CAMTEL and MTN Cameroon were not affected in any way, it is appropriate to urge operators to ensure redundancy on their last mile connections, for which they are solely responsible,” the CAMTEL GM said in the statement.
CAMTEL urged Orange Cameroon to refrain from absolving itself of the responsibility for the degradation of its network “while unfairly smearing the image of the incumbent operator”.
Redundancy in optical fiber networks refers to the duplication of critical components or pathways to ensure network reliability, minimize downtime, and prevent service disruptions. It is a key strategy in fault tolerance and high availability network designs.
First published in NewsWatch newspaper No 199 of Wednesday, February 19, 2025.
