09 June 2025
Burkina Faso's Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority (ARCEP) has introduced additional obligations for Orange, designated as a ‘powerful operator’ in the country's mobile telephony market. These new measures aim to regulate Orange’s business practices to better protect consumers and foster fair competition.
The obligations focus on enhancing transparency and objectivity in managing mobile offers. Operators are now required to provide consumers with clear, detailed, and easily understandable information about their services, including real-time notifications of balances and usage. They must improve the clarity of their offers, eliminate ambiguities in pricing, and adhere to strict billing rules, such as prioritizing the use of short-term accounts, avoiding the systematic deletion of unused balances at offer expiration, and offering a grace period during renewals.
ARCEP’s decision was driven by ongoing concerns over practices that undermine transparency, non-discrimination, and objectivity. Despite commitments made by Orange in 2023, market shortcomings persist — most notably, stagnation of official rates for over a decade and an increase in consumer complaints related to unclear usage conditions, disputed practices, and billing confusion.
Failure to comply with these new obligations could result in sanctions according to current regulations. Orange faces the risk of a formal notice, which may be accompanied by a daily financial penalty of 500,000 CFA francs for each day of delay. In addition, penalties could range from 1% to 3% of the company’s turnover excluding tax for the last closed financial year, with up to 5% in cases of repeated violations. More severe sanctions include suspension of the license for up to one month, reduction of its duration, non-renewal, or even permanent withdrawal.
The decision is expected to take effect within 45 days of Orange’s notification. The operator has the right to appeal to the appropriate administrative court within two months. ARCEP also reserves the right to revise its decision later to address market imbalances or adapt to changes in the technical, economic, or regulatory environment of Burkina Faso’s telecommunications sector.
