By Tabora Bojang
The Minister of Communication and Digital Economy Lamin Jabbi has said his Ministry has written to Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) for them to lift the floor price it put on mobile data.
The Authority announced the introduction of a temporary floor price for mobile data services, following a period of intensified tariff competition among mobile network operators which led to protests in the streets. The price floor according to the regulator, was aimed at safeguarding the “quality of telecommunication services” in the country, amidst a severe pricing crisis where data tariffs have plummeted to record lows. Pura has come under fire following this decision to fix a floor price for data and is accused of prioritising the interests of businesses over those of consumers.
In the wake of widespread public reactions and protests, President Adama Barrow set up a committee to review the matter and make recommendations.
Appearing before lawmakers yesterday, Minister Jabbi said the committee comprising the ministries of digital economy, finance, justice and trade, as well as Pura and the Gambia Competition and Consumer Protection Commission completed its findings based on which PURA was “directed to lift” the price floor. He said this directive was issued to PURA on October 16 2025. “The key conclusion is that the ban should be lifted. We wrote to Pura to direct that it be lifted based on the findings,” he said.
According to the Minister, Pura is also finalising a cost of service for the telecoms sector to determine the actual cost of each service provided by each operator. This, he added, will enable the regulator to have a scientific methodology of obtaining the data tariff of the sector. “After this study, both the price floor and the price ceiling is expected to be determined and to give the operators a range in which they must price their services,” he said.
