Sign in Subscribe
Telecommunications industry

Chad's Minister Gives Airtel and Moov Africa a One-Week Ultimatum to Improve Network Quality

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Chad's Minister of Posts and Digital Economy, Dr. Boukar Michel, has given Airtel and Moov Africa one week to connect to the country's national fiber-optic network to improve the quality of service (QoS) for customers. The minister stated that telcos should improve QoS or face potential sanctions, citing mounting consumer complaints over frequent outages, unstable Internet, and high tariffs relative to service quality. Despite the deployment of 1,275km of fiber as part of the Electronic Communications Infrastructure Modernization and Improvement Project, the minister emphasized the need for extreme measures to remedy the situation, given the country's low internet penetration rate of 13.2%. Public expectations for better communication have never been higher, and it is unacceptable to continue like this.

Key Takeaways:

  • Airtel and Moov Africa have one week to connect to Chad's national fiber-optic network to improve QoS for customers.
  • The minister has stated that telcos should improve QoS or face potential sanctions.
  • Consumer complaints over frequent outages, unstable Internet, and high tariffs relative to service quality have mounted.
  • Despite the deployment of 1,275km of fiber, the minister emphasized the need for extreme measures to remedy the situation.
  • Chad has an internet penetration rate of 13.2% and 2.74 million internet users as of January 2025.
  • The number of internet users in Chad increased by 113,000, or 4.3%, between January 2024 and January 2025.
  • Airtel Chad has a market share of 52.7% and Moov Africa Chad has a market share of 47.3% at the end of the second quarter of 2025.
  • Airtel was fined 5 billion Central African CFA francs in August 2023 for deteriorating network quality.
  • Moov Africa was given a formal notice for similar service deficiencies.

Statistics:

  • 1,275km of fiber have been deployed as part of the Electronic Communications Infrastructure Modernization and Improvement Project.
  • Chad has an internet penetration rate of 13.2% as of January 2025.
  • There are 2.74 million internet users in Chad as of January 2025.
  • The number of internet users in Chad increased by 113,000, or 4.3%, between January 2024 and January 2025.
  • Airtel Chad has a market share of 52.7% at the end of the second quarter of 2025.
  • Moov Africa Chad has a market share of 47.3% at the end of the second quarter of 2025.
  • Airtel was fined 5 billion Central African CFA francs in August 2023 for deteriorating network quality.

Sources:

  • DataReportal
  • Omdia
  • Kepios
  • ARCEP (Chad)
  • ZICTA (Zambia)
  • Connecting Africa

Read more