There are four MNOs in Cameroon; MTN, Orange, state-owned CamTel and Viettel-owned Nexttel, which has been looking for new investors for some time. IHS Towers is the sole towerco in Cameroon having acquired sites from MTN and engered a management contract with Orange.
IHS has also resigned with MTN Cameroon for another 10 years and has used their local opco to shift some of their US$ debt into local currency with a better interest rate.
Colocation rates in Cameroon are quite low, although government pressure on MNOs to share infrastructure has helped IHS tenant CamTel on some of their sites. MTN has committed US$250mn into network upgrades to increase their market share from 37% to over 40%, mostly in renewing, modernising and extending their network.
Cameroon has a massive coverage shortage, with less than 50% of the territory having mobile access. All four of Cameroon’s MNOs have been fined a total of US$8.8mn in poor service quality. Previous protests from unsatisfied subscribers had pushed MTN and Orange to accelerate network upgrades, and now all four MNOs have brought their network upgrade plans for 2023 forward.
The regulator has been putting pressure on MNOs to increase network coverage and improve service quality and face massive fines if they fail to meet these requirements. Both AMN and NuRAN have contracts with Orange to support rural infrastructure needs, with NuRAN also working as a local delivery partner for managed services provider NETIS.
In the capital Yaonde there grid availability is around75%, but there is a significant decline in uptime during the dry season between January and June. Cameroon relies on hydroelectric dams to provide grid power, so loadshedding can be as high as 90% in some areas during the dry season.
However, the recently constructed Nachtigal hydropower plant has started supplying energy into the grid and is expected to become fully operational by end of 2024.
Despite IHS towers having nearly all of their sites on-grid, the towerco has invested heavily in on-site energy typologies including solar hybrid solutions. Cameroon was identified as one of IHS Towers’ key markets for Project Green, the company’s carbon reduction roadmap, which commits US$214mn to reduce emissions and maximize energy savings.
MTN’s sites are managed internally, but Orange’s sites are managed by its ESCO partner, Camusat’s Aktivco. Camtel has been relatively stagnant in the market. ESCO Clear Blue Technologies International have started deploying their smart off-grid power solution for Telia Cameroon as part of its rollout for MTN.
IHS Towers have been working with Orange and MTN on a new in-building project, having surveyed 5 sites at Douala International Airport to assess coverage levels.
IHS Towers is also working on a small cell project, as some areas in Yaonde suffer from capacity constraints, and are working on a 4G small cell PoC with MTN and Orange. IHS Towers are also interested in exploring fibre provision, but currently fibre rollout is monopolised by Camtel.
