State-owned telecommunications company CAMTEL has rejected claims that its network was responsible for the interruption of the live broadcast of Pope Leo XIV’s address at the Unity Palace in Yaoundé.
In a communiqué issued on 16 April, CAMTEL dismissed assertions made by Cameroon Radio Television that the disruption stemmed from a failure of the national fibre optic infrastructure. The company stated that “no unavailability of its infrastructure nor any network failure” was recorded during the incident.
According to CAMTEL, technical data collected from its field teams and network supervision centre confirmed that there was neither a fibre optic cut nor any malfunction affecting its internet services at the time of the broadcast.
Instead, the telecom operator pointed to editorial and technological choices made by CRTV. It explained that during coverage at Nsimalen International Airport and along the Pope’s route, the broadcaster relied primarily on its own satellite transmission system, using fibre optics only as a backup.
At the Unity Palace, CAMTEL further noted that CRTV used a TVU transmission system, which depends on mobile internet data from various local operators rather than the national fibre backbone. The company added that this was evident from the “TVU” label visible on-screen during the live broadcast, indicating that the primary signal did not pass through CAMTEL’s infrastructure.
CAMTEL also stressed that any genuine fibre optic failure would have affected multiple users simultaneously. However, it noted that other broadcasters, including PRC TV, continued transmission uninterrupted, reinforcing its position that its network remained fully operational.
While expressing regret over what it described as a “premature public accusation”, CAMTEL reaffirmed its capacity to deliver reliable services. The company highlighted that exceptional technical measures had been deployed to ensure seamless connectivity across all sites involved in the papal visit.
The operator concluded by stating its readiness to collaborate with authorities in conducting a joint technical audit to establish the exact cause of the disruption and “restore the truth of the facts”.
