[DIGITAL Business Africa] – In recent weeks, telecommunications services in Cameroon have been facing significant turbulence. From degraded service quality in many areas to repeated power outages that disrupt electronic communications, subscribers are forced to deal with an unstable and unreliable internet.
At the Cabinet meeting of July 31, 2025, chaired by Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute, the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Minette Libom Li Likeng, delivered an alarming report: insufficient service continuity, incomplete and uneven national coverage, recurrent network congestion, and fluctuating speeds, “caused by the gradual saturation of ageing infrastructure.”
While all mobile operators are affected, the situation at Camtel is particularly critical and demands urgent action. On top of the general sector challenges, Camtel faces a growing list of customer complaints, compounded by what is seen as a disastrous customer service record.
To grasp the scale of the problem, one only needs to look at a few concrete situations that shape the daily experience of Camtel and Blue subscribers – myself included.
1 – The shortage of replacement SIM cards
If your phone is stolen or lost, it’s impossible to keep your Blue number. For months now, replacement SIM cards have been unavailable nationwide. Instead, you are told to buy a new SIM card – meaning a new number.
Serious consequence: the thief or hacker could continue using your old number if you haven’t had it blocked, with all the associated risks.
2 – Data bundles purchased… but unusable
This is one of the top complaints from Blue subscribers. A glance at the comments under Camtel’s Facebook posts gives a clear picture of the frustration.
Many customers purchase a bundle but are unable to use it. The operator should consider issuing automatic refunds, as Orange recently did in a similar case.
3 – FTTH: Faster installation, but poor after-sales service
Camtel now focuses much of its communication on its FTTH (Fibre to the Home) offers — at the expense of suspended Blue Bundles. Installation times for FTTH have improved compared to the past, when customers could wait up to three months. However, after-sales service remains a nightmare.
Unexplained outages despite bills being paid, endless delays for reconnection… Unless you have a friend working as a Camtel technician, you’ll need plenty of patience.
4 – Power cuts = Internet cuts
In Emana, Yaoundé, Blue subscribers know it well: when Eneo cuts the power, Blue internet service also goes down.
The result: customers switch to Orange or MTN while waiting for electricity to return.
5 – Failed bundle activations: “System Error”
Heavy Blue data users are all too familiar with the “System Error” message. After a few activations of popular bundles like M (1.5 GB/day for 300 CFA francs) or L (2 GB/48 h for 500 CFA francs), many subscribers find they cannot buy another bundle the same day.
In effect, you want to give Camtel your money, and the system replies, “System Error” – essentially, “No thanks.”
A Camtel technician at an agency might explain that your number has been “blocked” from making further activations and that it must be unlocked by another service outside Camtel’s main branch. Sometimes this takes hours. Meanwhile, customers simply turn to the competition. And for years, no solution has been found to eliminate the notorious “System Error”.
6 – Silent removal of bundles and abandoned customers
For nearly two months, Camtel has removed, without any official explanation, several Blue data bundles — including daily bundles (100 to 2,000 CFA francs) and the popular night bundle. Now, only one remains: 1,000 CFA francs for 2 GB valid for 7 days.
Faced with numerous unanswered questions from users on Facebook, Digital Business Africa reached out two weeks ago to Camtel’s Head of Communications Unit, Head of Communications Division, and CEO Judith Yah Sunday. To date, there has been total silence. Despite follow-ups, our submitted interview protocol is still awaiting a response.
This silence has only sped up the subscriber exodus to MTN and Orange. It took a brief comment from Camtel’s community manager on Facebook to learn that the change was supposedly “a technical adjustment as part of an overall improvement of Camtel’s offers.” Users have drawn their own conclusions, with some linking the move to Cameroon’s current pre-election climate, accusing Camtel of reducing affordable bundles to curb online discussions and interactions.
In any case, calls to restore daily and night bundles flood Camtel and Blue’s Facebook pages with every new post.
The absence of communication: a relationship disaster
In relationship marketing, silence in the face of a major customer issue is known as customer abandonment: the company no longer meets its clients’ usual needs. The result is a breakdown of trust and accelerated churn (customer migration to competitors).
Yet, when she took office in December 2018, Judith Yah Sunday promised to base her leadership on two pillars:
- Customer Centricity – delivering a quality customer experience.
- Change Management – reinventing governance and operational methods.
“Anchored to these two pillars, Camtel will continue to uphold its core values: extending network coverage, expanding our product and service catalogue, and ensuring service quality. This is the honour of our commitment.” declared the Camtel CEO in September 2023 during the company’s 25th anniversary celebrations.
Nearly seven years later, it is clear the first pillar has yet to be realised.
Predictable consequences
Beyond the feeling of abandonment expressed by subscribers, the consequences for Camtel are manifold. The removal of bundles tailored to specific usage habits directly leads to customer loss – and thus high churn – in favour of MTN and Orange, which offer daily bundles from 100 to 500 CFA francs.
This accelerated exodus will soon translate into rapid market share erosion, a surge in complaints, and persistent bad buzz on social media. Brand-wise, both Blue and Camtel emerge weakened, with a trust deficit that risks becoming long-term.
Brand-wise, both Blue and Camtel emerge weakened, with a trust deficit that risks becoming long-term.
Camtel’s communication managers and CEO are undoubtedly aware of this reality, but their inaction raises serious questions.
What must be done urgently?
A quick look at Camtel and Blue’s Facebook pages reveals the depth of user frustration. In nearly every post over the past two months, the comments section is filled with complaints.
To contain the damage, Camtel must communicate officially about the removal of these daily bundles and address all the customer concerns raised.
A clear public statement on social media and in the press is essential.
The operator should also refund affected subscribers – as recommended in the past by the ART and Minpostel in similar cases of unusable purchased data – and perhaps offer bonus data to ease tensions.
Finally, direct and personalised contact with affected customers would send a strong signal to rebuild trust.
By refusing to speak up and leaving its subscribers in the dark, Camtel is exposing itself to a deep and lasting crisis of confidence. If nothing is done quickly, this episode will stand as one of the most glaring examples of perceived incompetence in Cameroon’s telecom sector.
By Beaugas-Orain DJOYUM
Read more:
Camtel Hits Hard… and in Silence: Several Internet Packages Axed Without Warning Subscribers
Read some comments on Camtel’s Facebook page
