Algeria threatens telecom operators with fines over poor highway network coverage
Algeria is ramping up pressure on mobile network operators to improve telecom coverage along major highways and remote desert routes, warning that companies failing to meet service obligations could face heavy financial penalties or even lose their licenses.
Black News 
Algeria is ramping up pressure on mobile network operators to improve telecom coverage along major highways and remote desert routes, warning that companies failing to meet service obligations could face heavy financial penalties or even lose their licenses.
- Algeria is increasing pressure on telecom operators to improve mobile coverage along major highways and remote desert roads.
- Authorities warned operators could face fines of up to 10% of annual turnover for repeated violations.
- The government sees reliable telecom access as critical for trade, transport safety, and economic activity.
- The move reflects a broader push across Africa to close connectivity gaps outside major cities.
The warning came after a high-level meeting chaired by Algeria’s Minister of Post and Telecommunications, Sid Ali Zerrouki, with the country’s telecom regulator and executives from mobile operators to review the quality of telecom services across the country.
Authorities focused heavily on coverage along the East-West Highway, one of North Africa’s most important transport corridors, after previously issued deadlines for improving service expired.
Officials also pushed operators to accelerate network expansion along strategic north-south roads, including National Roads 1, 3, and 6, which connect northern cities with sparsely populated desert regions in the south.
The government said road connectivity has become a national economic and security priority as Algeria seeks to strengthen transport links, improve trade flows, and support development outside major urban centers.
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Reliable telecom service is increasingly viewed as essential for freight transportation, emergency response, passenger safety, and economic activity, especially across remote areas where coverage gaps remain common.
The renewed pressure highlights a broader challenge across Africa, where governments are demanding wider rural and highway coverage even as telecom operators face high infrastructure costs, difficult terrain, and lower commercial returns outside densely populated cities.
Algeria’s telecom regulator, the Postal and Electronic Communications Regulatory Authority (ARPCE), has already carried out field tests to assess service quality and operators’ compliance with coverage obligations.
Under Algerian law, operators that fail to meet regulatory requirements can first receive formal notices ordering compliance within 30 days. Continued violations can trigger financial penalties of up to 5% of annual turnover excluding taxes, rising to 10% for repeat offenses.
For operators without sufficient financial benchmarks, penalties can reach 15 million Algerian dinars, or about $113,500, and double for repeated breaches.
Authorities can also impose tougher measures if failures persist. These include partial or total suspension of operating licenses and, in extreme cases, permanent withdrawal of permits.
The tougher stance comes as governments across Africa intensify efforts to expand digital infrastructure and reduce connectivity gaps that continue to affect transport corridors, border regions, and rural communities.
While mobile penetration across the continent has grown rapidly over the past decade, service quality outside major cities remains uneven in many markets due to underinvestment, power shortages, and the high cost of building infrastructure across vast territories.
In Algeria, officials said improving coverage along high-traffic highways and desert roads is necessary to ensure continuity of telecom services across the national territory and support the country’s broader digital transformation ambitions.
