By Mahmud Tim Kargbo
Sierra Leone is experiencing an escalating telecommunications crisis that has provoked widespread public anger and renewed scrutiny of the sector’s governance under President Julius Maada Bio’s New Direction. Orange Sierra Leone and Africell, the country’s two dominant mobile network operators, continue to face an avalanche of criticism for rising tariffs, diminishing service quality, and persistent network instability. Many citizens now question whether the National Communications Authority (NatCA) is fulfilling its mandate to regulate effectively and protect consumer rights.
Data Prices Rise, But Quality Plummets:
In November 2025, both Orange and Africell increased their weekly data bundles from 60 New Leones to 100 New Leones, a near 67 percent rise that stunned consumers. Despite the price jump, subscribers report no corresponding improvement in service quality. Users continue to complain that data bundles deplete unusually fast, signals remain erratic, and call drops occur with unacceptable frequency.
This follows a one million US dollar fine levied against Orange earlier in 2025 for what NatCA described as abysmal network quality. Yet service conditions remain unchanged, prompting critics to argue that fines have become symbolic gestures rather than instruments of genuine reform.
Legal and Constitutional Obligations:
The National Communications Authority Act 2022 vests NatCA with powers to regulate tariffs, enforce quality-of-service standards, and safeguard consumers from exploitation. The Act explicitly requires that all tariff changes be justified, published, and subjected to regulatory oversight before approval.
Similarly, the Telecommunications Act 2006 guarantees consumers fair billing, accurate information, and compensation for service failure that results in financial loss.
Legal analysts further note that the Sierra Leone Constitution protects access to information and freedom of expression, rights that depend on reliable and affordable communication channels. By permitting poor quality and inflated pricing, authorities may be undermining constitutional guarantees indirectly but materially.
Moreover, the Quality of Service Regulations 2020 establish mandatory benchmarks for data speeds, network availability, latency, and call clarity. These benchmarks, critics allege, are routinely ignored with little or no consequence.
Why Regulation Is Failing:
Analysts attribute the current crisis to regulatory inertia, soft enforcement, and potential corporate influence. Civil society organisations accuse NatCA of lacking independence and failing to defend the public interest. The National Union of Civil Society Organisations (NUCSO SL) has even demanded the resignation of the regulator’s leadership over alleged negligence.
Further complicating matters is the fact that Sierra Leone has not undertaken a comprehensive market and cost study in several years. Such studies are essential for setting fair tariffs based on real operational costs. Without them, pricing decisions rely on negotiation rather than empirical analysis, creating fertile ground for consumer exploitation.
Attempts by Parliament to intervene have been inconsistent. Legislators initially ordered telcos to revert to lower data tariffs but later suspended this directive after the companies lobbied for more time. The reversal has fuelled public suspicion of undue corporate influence on national policymaking.
How Sierra Leone Compares with Commonwealth and Regional Standards:
Across the Commonwealth, regulatory principles promote transparency, consumer protection, and enforceable quality standards. Kenya, Ghana, and Rwanda are often cited as exemplars. Kenya’s Communications Authority conducts rigorous monitoring and publishes regular compliance reports, while Ghana’s regulator issues quarterly performance assessments that hold operators publicly accountable. Rwanda’s universal service obligations have dramatically expanded rural connectivity.
Sierra Leone, by comparison, lacks consistent monitoring, transparent reporting, and firm regulatory enforcement.
Socioeconomic Impact: A Digital Divide Widening:
Digital connectivity underpins economic development, education, public information, and social mobility. Students depend on mobile data for research and online learning, entrepreneurs rely on digital platforms for commerce, and journalists depend on stable connections for real-time reporting.
When data becomes costly yet unreliable, national development stalls. The groups most affected are students, rural residents, low-income households, media practitioners, and micro enterprises whose livelihoods increasingly hinge on affordable internet access.
Reform or Repetition?
Sierra Leone does not suffer from a lack of legal frameworks. It suffers from weak enforcement, limited institutional independence, and inconsistent regulatory will. While the National Communications Authority Act 2022, Telecommunications Act 2006, and the Quality of Service Regulations offer strong consumer protections, their application has been insufficient and sometimes negligent.
President Bio’s New Direction pledged improved digital infrastructure, accountability, and protection of consumer rights. Yet many critics argue that the telecommunications sector has deteriorated, with higher tariffs, worsening service, and questionable oversight. Some insist the sector is now performing worse than under the previous administration.
Unless NatCA undertakes bold reforms and enforces its mandate with firmness and transparency, Sierra Leone will continue to pay premium prices for substandard connectivity, leaving millions of citizens digitally stranded and economically disadvantaged.
References:
http://www.natcom.gov.sl/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/The-National-Communications-Authority-Act-2022.pdf
http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_Authority_of_Kenya
http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/treg/Documentation/Infodev_handbook/1_overview.pdf
http://www.thecommonwealth-ilibrary.org/index.php/comsec/catalog/download/1005/1001/8565?inline=1
http://www.moic.gov.sl/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/REOI-for-Comprehensive-Market-Study.pdf
http://www.hrlibrary.umn.edu/instree/SCSL/SierraLeoneConstit.pdf
Disclaimer:
The views expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author and do not in anyway reflect the opinions or editorial policy of Africa Publicity
