Equatorial Guinea is at risk of being disconnected if its government fails to settle payment for the use of international undersea fiber optic connectivity.
This month, the country's vice president, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, warned that delays in transferring payments to the Gestor de Infraestruturas de Telecomunicações da Equatorial Guinea (GITGE) – the telco contracted to operate and maintain the country's telecommunications infrastructure – could leave the country without internet in two weeks.
Mangue did not specify the total outstanding amount. The vice-president also tweeted that the payment through the Bank of Central African States (BEAC), of which Equatorial Guinea is affiliated, has not yet been authorized by the Bank of France.
If the Central Bank of France does not authorize transfers of GITGE through BEAC for the payment of optical fiber in the country, in two weeks #Equatorial Guinea will be without internet.
— teddy nguema (@teonguema) August 25
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The management of BEAC's international reserves is governed by monetary cooperation agreements with France, represented by the Bank of France.
According to Mangue, France's central bank imposes monetary policies on the BEAC that slow down development within the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), which includes Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
BEAC and the Bank of France did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Equatorial Guinea is connected to only one international submarine cable system – the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE), which runs off the coast of South Africa, with several IXPs en route to France.
According to Datareportal, there are 374.000 internet users in Equatorial Guinea and as of January 2021, the country recorded an internet penetration rate of 26,2%.
Mangue said the prime minister was ordered to establish a commission to "provide immediate solutions to this problem".
