Claim: “…no [mobile operator] in The Gambia can charge more than D50 for 1GB of data.”
Source: InsideGambia.com
Verdict: False
Claim
On August, 19, 2025, the Facebook Page, InsideGambia.com, made widely circulated post to its 46, 000 followers in which it claims that “PURA [Public Utilities Regulatory Authority] is implementing a new regulation that will limit how much mobile operators can charge for data. Under this new rule, no operator in The Gambia can charge more than D50 for 1GB of data.”
The page which has its address as Bristol street, Manchester, United Kingdom, RG1 6E, portrays itself as providing “factual news and current affairs on the Gambia and related issues, business, culture, history and entertainment”.
In the same post, Inside Gambia also wrote that under this [PURA] regulation, consumers would now be able to purchase 12GB of data for D600, instead of the usual D1,120 after promotions end, thus ensuring that data remains affordable even when companies are no longer running special offers.”That’s almost 50% in savings. It ensures that data remains affordable even when companies are no longer running special offers,” the platform wrote.
The post went viral, attracting 538 likes, 528 comments and shared (re-posted) by its followers 43 times as of 24th September, 2025. One of the entities that shared the post was the Gambia Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) itself, which may have added to the confusion.
Background Context
Prior to the introduction of a price floor of D50 for a 1GB of internet data by The Gambia Government’s utilities regulator, PURA, consumers of Africell, Qcell, and Comium enjoyed sharply discounted promotional data rates with 1GB selling for as low as D13. These aggressive price cuts sparked what PURA described as an “unsustainable price war”. In response, PURA issued a directive in August 2025 to address the situation.
Fact-Check
Based on PURA’s press release dated 19th August 2025, the regulatory body pointed out that they have “introduced a price floor of GMD50 per gigabyte and have reinforced quality-of-service (QoS) standards to safeguard consumers from the negative consequences of the recent data tariff price war.”
The public institution argued that their move was a result of ‘the unsustainable reductions triggering a market failure, network congestion, slow internet speed, among other things, and if left unchecked, this deterioration would have undermined both consumer welfare and long-term digital development.’
As the directive came into effect, it compelled GSM companies to increase their summer promotional data tariffs, now charging no less than D50 per gigabyte in compliance with the new regulation. This hiked internet data prices by 243% as per our calculations.
On August 20, 2025, a group of journalists visited the PURA office on Kairaba Avenue, Pipeline, to demand an explanation regarding the new directive. PURA’s Director of Economic Regulation, Burama Jammeh, explained the rationale behind their decision.
“In the past three to four weeks, we witnessed a very unhealthy price war, with prices dropping to as low as D5 per GB,” he said. However, this claim is not accurate, our research shows 500MB was set at D5 not 1GB.
According to him, this reduction by GSM Companies is not sustainable. Therefore, they have to intervene because they have sensed a “market failure, [and] if the market forces collapse and the market cannot address itself, the regulator has the power to intervene and either set a [price] ceiling or a floor.”
“The only crime we did is that we cut short of the promotion, that is the only thing we say we did. But other than that, I think we are on track, the arrangement has favoured Gambians, and it is in their best interest,” Jammeh said.
This move has drawn criticism from the public, who believe that the regulator is protecting the GSM Companies at the expense of the consumers who have suffered from expensive data tariffs for years.
In a statement on August 20, 2025, the Gambia Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (GCCPC) said “such regulatory interventions risk undermining the gains of open market rivalry, where businesses compete on price, quality, and service innovation to the benefit of consumers.”
After our review of PURA’s statement and their responses to journalists, it is clear that a price floor has been established, not a price ceiling, as claimed by Inside Gambia’s Facebook post.
Understanding Economic Terms
A price floor is a minimum price set by a regulatory authority that a company or business can charge its consumers, while a price ceiling is the maximum price a company or business can charge.
Therefore, the PURA regulation prohibits operators from charging less than D50 per GB and now the price of data has increased well above D50 per GB.
Based on our research, the claim by Inside Gambia that no operator in The Gambia can charge more than D50 per GB is false and misleading. When contacted for a response, InsideGambia.com stated that they will “review their publication” in light of our findings
Verdict: FALSE
