The Democratic Republic of Congo's postal and telecommunications regulator has accused South African telecoms group MTN of illegally providing mobile phone and internet services in the country, including in rebel-held areas such as Goma and Rutshuru, without holding an operating license.

In a statement dated Feb. 11, 2026, the regulator known as ARPTC said it had "well-documented" evidence and had referred the matter to unspecified national and international bodies, vowing to use "all legal means" to uphold the law and protect digital sovereignty.

The statement followed a meeting convened the previous day by Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka on "digital intrusion and the illegal use of Congolese frequencies by a foreign operator." At the meeting, ARPTC was instructed to immediately take over the technical handling of the case and to refer it to relevant international bodies, under a zero-tolerance policy toward any violation of digital sovereignty.

MTN operates in several countries on the DRC's eastern border. The Rutshuru territory, for example, shares borders with both Uganda and Rwanda, where the South African multinational is present. But after the meeting with the prime minister, Posts and Telecommunications Minister José Mpanda singled out MTN Rwanda specifically, making the issue even more sensitive given that relations between Kinshasa and Kigali are at a low point due to the security crisis in the country's east.

Border Interference or Equipment Installation?

Based on the ARPTC statement, several industry players favor the hypothesis of cross-border spillover, which is common in border areas. It is "difficult to prevent networks from crossing the border," and in such cases "the two regulators must sit down with operators from both countries to find a technical solution," one source said. This interpretation draws on regional precedents where technical solutions were reportedly found without media exposure.

But accounts reported by the Congolese press and corroborated by several local sources point to a potentially more sensitive scenario. In central Rutshuru, equipment attributed to MTN Rwanda has reportedly been installed on antennas in the Murambi neighborhood, allowing the Rwandan network to cover part of Congolese territory and effectively provide services there. In the same accounts, residents indicate that MTN SIM cards are now being sold in central Rutshuru and in Kiwanja, and are being used to maintain internet connectivity that has become unstable.

If confirmed, the characterization changes. This would no longer be simply a case of "interference" or a signal picked up from across the border, but rather a possible technical and commercial presence on Congolese soil, which would strengthen ARPTC's argument about the absence of an operating license.

Internet Disruptions as Context

The technical context also plays a role. On Jan. 26, 2026, Vodacom Congo (DRC) said in a statement that it had suffered an intrusion at its technical center in Goma (North Kivu), resulting in a loss of network supervision and control "in that area."

For several months, Congolese authorities have also been warning about the deteriorating quality of telecommunications services. According to several accounts, cities in the east of the country under the control of the AFC/M23 rebels or affected by insecurity have been particularly impacted. Authorities have blamed the disruptions on outages of the WACS undersea cable, pushing users to seek alternative solutions, including foreign networks, particularly in border territories such as Rutshuru.

At this stage, the challenge is to distinguish between scenarios that do not carry the same regulatory consequences: simple cross-border coverage spillover, roaming or technical agreements, or the installation of equipment and sale of SIM cards in the DRC. ARPTC's statement does not detail the technical mechanism or evidence, and MTN has not yet officially responded.

Between assertions of digital sovereignty and the technical realities of border networks, the case will likely hinge on concrete technical evidence: verification of equipment, frequency tracing, clarification of any technical agreements and, above all, establishing whether there is actual operation on Congolese territory.

Pierre Mukoko