Cameroon services and so the debate today is why the sum collected should not be shared amongst all TV stations given that all of them are watched by the citizens. Television in Cameroon is actually available only to a limited number of persons in the rural areas. Of late CRTV management has begun to update the corporation’s equipment and install transmitters in various localities in a bid to extend services to the rural populations. Print Media: The marketplace for the press in Cameroon saw a massive growth in the number of newspapers and magazines, from around 50 to about 500 in 2005. But the newspapers are expensive for the average citizen. In early 2008 publishers concerted and took an illegal decision to increase the price of the newspapers from 300 CFA francs to 400 CFA francs (US $0.6 – US $0.80). This decision was illegal because it had to come but from the government. Even those who were not part of the concertation have increased the prices of their newspapers. This is really expensive for a population that is still to develop a reading culture. The increase in the prices of newspapers has been attributed to the high cost of inputs. In fact, publishers have not stopped asking for tax exoneration on newspaper inputs. Besides the high prices, the newspapers hardly get to the rural areas, and if they ever do, they get there extremely late. This stems from a distribution problem. “Messapress” (sole distributor of newspapers in Cameroon), has continued to enjoy the monopoly of newspaper distribution, which it did during the colonial days. With one or two failed attempts at running another distribution network, operators within the media sector are yet to come up with an efficient system that can put an end to such a monopoly. Internet: Internet services are available in the main cities. With 500 CFA francs (US $1), one can surf the net for up to 2 hours 30 minutes. That is certainly within the reach of city dwellers. But for somebody in the rural area 200 CFA ($ 0.4) for one hour appears expensive. Where the services are available in the rural areas, the citizens are sometimes deprived because of the repeated and prolonged interAfrican Media Barometer - Cameroon 2008 13