The rapidly expanding communications sector in Senegal faces major challenges: a multitude of offers, uneven network coverage, and difficulty for consumers to navigate the options. To address these issues, the Telecommunications and Postal Regulatory Authority (ARTP) presented a series of digital tools designed to improve transparency and service quality this Thursday, January 22nd, at the King Fahd Palace.

This dynamic is fully in line with the vision of the State's "Technological New Deal", which aims to make digital technology a major lever for sovereignty, economic competitiveness and modernization of public action.

With over 200 offers available on the market, consumers often struggle to identify the one best suited to their needs. Furthermore, some areas remain poorly covered, resulting in unequal access to services across the country. In this context, ARTP aimed to place information at the heart of regulation, empowering users to compare offers and understand the actual quality of the network.

Tools to help consumers make informed decisions

According to the Director General of ARTP, Dahirou Thiam, these tools serve two main purposes: to help consumers make informed decisions and to enable the regulator to quickly identify areas requiring investment or improvements.

He emphasized that these tools were designed to support users while providing the regulator with greater visibility on the ground. “The mapping of offers allows users to compare services based on budget and usage, while the network coverage maps, soon to be enhanced with wired and transport infrastructure, offer a precise view of service access across the entire territory. Crowdsourcing tools also allow users to share their measurements and experiences, thus strengthening regulation based on concrete and up-to-date data.”

All data collected is anonymized and secured, in accordance with national and international standards. It is used both for investment planning, defining public policies, and directly informing consumers.

"Digitalization is no longer an option. It allows the regulator to better understand the market and users to make informed choices," the Director General stated.

With these initiatives, ARTP aims to reduce the information asymmetry between operators and consumers, while modernizing the communications sector. These tools also contribute to strengthening Senegal's digital sovereignty, enabling the country to better control its data and infrastructure.