10 October 2023
Mattel, Mauritel and Chinguitel are required to implement national roaming in all localities in the territory covered only by one of them before 31 December, as per a decision from the Regulatory Authority.
“National roaming refers to a form of active infrastructure sharing, allowing subscribers of a mobile electronic communications network operator to have access to the network and services offered by another mobile network operator in an area not covered by the first operator's own network,” said the Authority.
This decision is part of a plan to accelerate the coverage of mobile telecoms services to meet the ever-growing demand from users. It follows a mission to control the quality of voice and data services offered by telecom operators carried out by the Authority from 1 August to 7 September. The results of the mission show the existence of breaches in relation to some of the commitments, prescribed in the operators' specifications, in 47 towns, localities and 11 roads.
Once implemented, national roaming is expected to improve competitive dynamics between telecom operators, guaranteeing consumers improved services at reduced costs. The initiative is also expected to reach thousands of additional people. According to the latest statistics from the Authority, the penetration rate of mobile services in Mauritania is 153% compared to 76% for the internet.
