On 24 March, Camtel launched a tender for 2.3 million SIM cards compatible with 5G, worth 500 million FCFA — just over 217 FCFA per card. On paper, a clear offensive against the two private operators that dominate Cameroon's mobile market.
In substance, though, the move changes nothing immediately for users: this is not a commercial 5G launch, but technical pre-positioning — equipping future subscribers ahead of time, before the network itself is ready.
And the network is indeed not ready. 5G is not yet authorised for commercial operation in Cameroon: the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications is still finalising the specifications that will govern licence allocation.
The balance of power shows the scale of the challenge. In mobile revenue, Orange Cameroon holds 50.08%, MTN Cameroon 47.2% — and Camtel just 2.67%, with around 2.1 million active lines, far behind its two rivals' subscriber bases.
The state operator is not betting on SIM cards alone: 44.884 billion FCFA has been allocated to the first phase of its mobile network expansion — an investment effort out of proportion with its current market weight.
The bet is clear, the outcome far less so: no SIM card or '5G' label will be enough on its own to shift such a locked-in market. The real test will come once the network, not just the chips, is actually ready for use.
