Cameroon:Mobile Network operators cajoling subscribers with free airtime to get them registered

The dateline is fast approaching for mobile operators to deactivate all unregistered mobile SIM cards in their database, in accordance with an injunction from the Ministry of Posts and Telecoms. To avoid enacting this extreme measure, which will mean  a reduction in the total subscriber base, mobile operators are using every method available to motivate their subscribers to register prior to the deadline.

In addition to deploying hundreds of agents to carry out the registration in the cities of the country, the installation of registration centres in the areas with high population density, mobile operators, for example, now offer free credit to subscribers who actually register.

Thus, immediately after leaving the store where they were registered, a mobile subscriber will receive up to FCfa 10,000 in communication credit. This credit is valid for 24 hours, and is generally only used on the mobile operator’s own network.

As a reminder, over the 2014-2015 period, mobile operators in Cameroon had to suspend approximately 6 million chips deemed “suspicious”, according to the Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (ART).

BIC