The Telecommunication Regulatory Board (TRB) has announced the suspension of promotional offers by mobile telephone operators during the upcoming festive period, which they consider as the principal cause of network congestion.

The announcement was made during a meeting organised yesterday, December 10, by Douala Regional Delegation, which brought together mobile telephone operators like MTN, Orange, Camtel and Nexttel, as well as Internet services providers.

During the meeting, Telecommunications Senior Inspector, Noah Jean Marie said previous years experience pointed out that calls between two networks was interrupted, emergency calls not going through, delay in receiving SMS’s registered and internet navigation practically impossible.

This year, the Inspector said, some pre-emptive measures have already been taken at the level of the TRB including the suspension of promotional calls, while other measures will be taken latest Tuesday December, 16 to prevent reoccurrence.

Apart from suspending promotional offers, mobile telephone operators were asked to expand their network, put in place a standby technical team for any eventuality and make sure emergency numbers like 113, 117, and 118 go through without hitches.

Concerning security, the mobile telephone operators were urged to intensify identification process in sim card sales in order to easily identify and bring crooks to book.

The Regional Representative of Camtel, Theophile Agbeya regretted that optic fibres are often destroyed during road construction which contributes in poor telephone services but said everything has been put in place to ensure a smooth communication. Nexttel’s Director of Radio Optimisation, Bui Ngoc Tan also assured the population of improved services during the period.