The Cameroon Telecommunications Company (CAMTEL) has signed an agreement with the country’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to deploy broadband infrastructure and services.
The agreement, signed by the Minister of Housing and Urban Development Celestine Ketcha, will see newly constructed houses connected to the broadband services.
Although neither the government nor the telco have divulged details of the duration of the project or costs involved, they said coverage will include Olembe (Yaounde), Banga-Bakoko (Douala) and “other towns that have not yet been connected”.
In Olembe, the government is building 10, 000 houses and pinpointed 50,000 constructible plots. According to Ketcha, the agreement falls in line with the objectives of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development in Cameroon.
The Minister added, “Internet and new infrastructure is what is expected by all the population. It is important and expected that CAMTEL should provide high-speed internet to people including low cost houses and all the new site that the head of State has instructed us to build. There is no way to live today without internet.”
CAMTEL’s Director General Judith Yah Sunday Achidi, said, “As the incumbent operator, we have the responsibility to provide telecommunication services of high level connectivity. Therefore, it is important that we do anticipate and make sure that we provide these services to the community and don’t wait before the structures (houses) are built before we provide these services.”