Inbound and outbound roaming traffic between Kenya and Burundi is likely to improve following the entry of Burundi into the East African Community (EAC) One Network Area.
- •The initiative will enable Burundian citizens and businesses to benefit from advantageous rates when communicating with their counterparts in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and South Sudan.
- •According to the Communications Authority of Kenya’s third quarter statistics for the Financial Year 2023/24, incoming voice (minutes) from Burundi was 2,839, incoming SMS was 1,043,609 while the outgoing voice (minutes) and outgoing sms during the same period was 1,947 and 6,451 respectively.
- •The Burundi Telecommunications Regulation and Control Agency (ACRT) said it has already ordered network operators to implement new tariffs for regional roaming telephone calls and direct telephone calls to East African region.
“These unique tariffs, which are regionally competitive, will significantly reduce the costs of cross-border communications within the East African Community,” said ACRT in a statement.
“In order to ensure a transparent, reliable and satisfactory user experience, mobile network operators must clearly communicate the applicable tariffs for direct regional calls and regional roaming and apply detailed billing to verify the calls made and the amounts charged.”
The entry of Burundi into the East African Community (EAC) One Network Area means that six (6) out of the eight (8) EAC Partner States have now onboarded into the arrangement that promises cheaper calls and mobile data roaming charges across the region. The newest countries in the bloc – the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Federal Republic of Somalia are yet to join the ONA.
The EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Infrastructure, Productive, Social and Political Sectors, Andrea Aguer Ariik, said the move by Burundi would ease the doing of business in East Africa and aid the free movement of persons, workers, services and capital as enshrined in the EAC Common Market Protocol.
“The entry of Burundi will reduce the high cost of mobile roaming charges in the region and strengthen the integration process because East Africans can now communicate more easily without fear of high billing charges on mobile calls whether at home or in another Partner State,” said the DSG, who spoke on behalf of the EAC Secretary General, H.E. Veronica Nduva,.
“The ONA also promotes easier communication among the business community who have to span the entire region while transacting merchandise or services. We look forward to a time when all the eight (8) Partner States will be fully on the network. It will be a big boost on our journey to an integrated East Africa,” added Hon. Ariik.
The framework for harmonised EAC roaming was developed and approved by the 30th Meeting of the Council of Ministers in 2014 and endorsed by the EAC Heads of State in February 2015.
The framework-imposed price caps on roaming charges and called for the removal of surcharges on cross-border telecommunications traffic originating and terminating within the East African Community.
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