Give 14 Days Deadline
Monrovia, Liberia – Both Lonestar and Orange GSM Company were fined three hundred thousand US dollars by the Liberia Telecommunication Authority (LRA) for major violations and for refusing to provide vital data that could have affected revenue.
The Liberia Telecommunication Authority’s Acting Chairman, Abdullah Kamara, told the MICAT Press Briefing on Thursday, June 27, 2024, at the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs, and Tourism that the LTA had issued four court orders to the GSM Companies for regulatory violations based on a decision made by the board.
According to him, both businesses were attempting to outdo each other by giving customers more minutes for their money at a lower price than the market, which results in the government losing money, as well as by refusing to give crucial data that could have an impact on income.
According to him, the two GSM companies’ infractions resulted in a lot of traffic on the networks, which lowers service quality and lowers income.
“Towers were being decommissioned across the country and providers were unable to grow their networks. Even employees were being let go by providers. The telecom landscape is getting smaller as a result.”
According to him, the Floor pricing intervention brought stability to the industry, increased revenue, and allowed providers to grow their networks and adopt more creative approaches.
The previous year or two has seen a gradual return to floor price offerings, and after a gain, the market and government’s ability to collect money have sharply declined. This is not ideal, he continued.
According to Mr. Kamara, both enterprises were penalized by the board decision because they disregarded the LTA’s request for them to gradually launch packages within the floor price metric.
Simultaneously, the LTA has found three additional unreported links that are owned by Orange; two of them are international and one is local, and the LTA is unaware of them.
The two network providers have 14 days to respond to the LTA.
