Telcos cautioned against unwanted promo and text to clients

Phone service providers in Cameroon no longer have the right to send SMS messages to their clients outside of the hours of 6 am and 10 pm. Messages also can no longer go beyond three per day. In addition, mobile providers must also ensure that “conditions associated with gaming […] must be clear, exhaustive, honest and non-equivocal.

Gaming must also last no longer than three months.” These are the provisions contained in Articles 3 and 6 of the decision outlining the modalities governing gaming and the sending of unsolicited messages by cellular phone” published by the Managing Director of the Telecommunications Regulations Agency (TRA), Jean Louis Beh Mengué.

“Consumers weary with the disregard for the terms of this decision can engage the Telecommunications Regulations Agency,” as failure to observe the said decision would constitute “a lack that would engender sanctions provided for in applicable regulations and laws,” state Articles 9 and 10 of the TRA text.

In another decision, “setting the conditions and modalities for the launching of promotional offers in electronic communications” the Director General of the TRA indicates that “all promotional offers must be first submitted to the Agency, in notification, eight working days before the start of the promotion” (Art 4).

The document goes on to say that “the duration of the promotional offer may not exceed three months. The interval between promotions pertaining to the same offer may not be inferior to one month, except with the explicit authorisation of the TRA” (Art 3).

The two above-mentioned decisions indicated in the TRA’s release were taken on May 22, 2014. A month later, Cameroonian consumers continue to be bothered or even frustrated by the tens of SMS messages sent daily by mobile providers, even after midnight.