The Telecommunications and Postal Regulatory Authority (ARTP) has issued formal notice to Saga Africa Holdings Limited, which operates under the brand “YAS” (FREE). The operator is accused of serious breach of its obligations in terms of continuity and quality of service. This decision comes after several service interruptions having penalized thousands of users across Senegal.
According to exclusive information from SocialNetLink, operator Yas was unable to maintain continuity of its services during several critical periods, leaving many customers unable to access calls, SMS or mobile data. This dysfunction, deemed unacceptable by the ARTP, is aggravated by the fact that Yas did not respect the information procedures provided for by law.
Indeed, article 21 of law n°2018-28 of December 12, 2018 requires any operator to publish, without delay, forecasts of service interruptions for reasons of installation, repair or change of equipment. However, in this specific case, no official communication was made to warn consumers.
The texts in force also require operators to guarantee continuous availability of their networks, 24 hours a day, even during weekends and public holidays. In addition, ARTP decision no. 2021-002 requires that in the event of a major incident, operators inform the ARTP within two hours after the incident occurred. They must also present within five hours a detailed report on the measures implemented to restore service. In the case of Yas, these requirements were not met, prompting the intervention of the ARTP.
A formal notice as a strong signal
According to our information, the ARTP asks the operator to take immediate measures to restore normal and reliable service. Failing this, Yaas risks heavy sanctions up to and including the suspension of his license. This decision aims not only to protect consumers, but also to remind all operators of their obligation to respect the terms of the licenses, agreements and specifications assigned to them.
