Cameroon - Mobile telephony up 85% since 2005

Investing in Cameroon - Cameroon's mobile phone penetration rate increased by about 12% in 2005 to almost 83% in 2016

(Invest in Cameroon) - In a report just released, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MINPOSTEL) noted a significant change in the mobile phone penetration rate in Cameroon. The use of mobile phones and smartphones increased from about 12% in 2005 to almost 83% in 2016.

Available statistics on mobile phone subscriptions show that more than 20 million subscriptions were registered in 2016, the largest beneficiaries being operators MTN and Orange.

As in most African countries, the wired telephone network is in decline in

 Cameroon due to lack of investment, extension and maintenance, and vandalism, characterised by the theft of cables on the network, these and other strategic factors have given great impetus to the development of mobile telephony.

Since 2007, the number of fixed analogue telephone lines has remained below the 2006 figure (112,715 lines) and remains concentrated in the Centre and Littoral regions (more than 7 out of 10 lines).

Even though the penetration rate of fixed wireless telephony has been steadily increasing since 2005, mainly due to the high propensity for CDMA contracts, MINPOSTEL confirms the fact that fixed telephony remains practically in decline throughout the period (100,331 wired subscribers in 2005 compared to 67,678 in 2016).

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