Cameroon Telecommunications (Camtel) has noted that vandalism is the reason for a recent fibre optic outage on the terrestrial section of the South Atlantic Telecommunications cable no.3 (SAT-3).
According to the state-run telecommunications, the incident disrupted Camtel’s network and impacted service delivery from third-party MNOs.
A statement released by the operator said, “Our teams immediately mobilised and quickly managed to control the impact of this new act of vandalism, based on investigations carried out on the field. Camtel is more than ever determined to offer all its customers the best possible quality of service.”
General Manager of Camtel Judith Yah Sunday has complained that the company’s network infrastructure has been the target of vandals and that this crime was significantly undermining huge investments made by the government of Cameroon.
Yah Sunday has appealed to the public to help combat the threat and preserve Cameroon’s telecommunications infrastructure.
MTN Cameroon, Orange Cameroun and Nexttel have previously reported destruction of their infrastructure, notably antennas and transmission sites, in some parts of the country.
The Cameroon Employers’ Organisation (GICAM) said in addition to the systematic destruction of infrastructure worth hundreds of millions of dollars; the telcos had experienced “a geometric fall in pre-tax turnover since 2016” when the conflict erupted.
The Cameroon Association of Telephone Mobile Operators (CATMO) said they registered at least 1,800 fibre optic cuts and 1,000 power cuts in 2022 alone, over twice the figure recorded in 2021.
