Some inhabitants of Bamenda, chief town of the North West region say they are happy with the action taken my many to activate airplane mode on their mobile phones and stay for 2 hours without using the services of MTN and Orange Cameroon this April 24.
The boycott which was called for by musician Kareyce Fotso is aimed at causing the telecommunication companies to improve on their services. Many users of the phone networks in Bamenda say MTN and Orange Cameroon have been providing poor network to users for a long time and never worry about making improvements.
Reacting to the boycott, some inhabitants of Bamenda told CNA that it is a great move because it is a general problem all over the country.
“I think they are very right because there are days that the network here in Bamenda is horrible and you can’t do anything online. At least I thought it is usually only in the North West but if artists in Yaounde and Douala are first to raise this issue, then it is very serious, I’m totally in support,” a resident of Bamenda who preferred to be called Ernest said.
Precious, a student of the University of Bamenda who resides in Bambili says it has been a difficult time for her living and studying in Bambili. She added that in 2019 and 2020 when more than 70% of studies were done online because of covid-19, she faced a lot of challenges because of poor phone network service.
“The situation is worse with us students because you can’t go through these days in the university if you are not online. A lot of assignments and research to be done on the internet. I quickly recall how I failed a course in 2019 after I couldn’t submit my assignment on time because of poor network,” she said.
While some are blaming the telecommunication companies for the situation, some say the first person to be blamed is the silent government.
“To me I don’t have anything to say, the government of Cameroon is the one failing us because the companies are paying their tax. If the authorities are silent on issues like this, then who am I to question? I already have many problems bothering me, no need to add,” another user who opted to be anonymous said.
With the organisation of the boycott, it hoped that these service providers will understand thatthe situation is gradually becoming unbearable and that improvements on the quality of service will their priority.
Source: Cameroon News Agency