EAC moves to harmonise regional mobile roaming framework

DAR ES SALAAM - The East African Community (EAC) has launched regional engagements aimed at developing a harmonised Regional Mobile Roaming Framework to reduce communication costs, improve cross-border connectivity and accelerate implementation of the EAC Single Digital Market agenda.

The meetings, taking place in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, until May 29, 2026, have brought together telecommunications experts, policymakers, Heads of Communications Regulatory Authorities and regional institutions under the Meeting of the Technical Committee on Telecommunications.

The initiative comes as East African governments increasingly prioritise digital integration to boost regional trade, investment and socio-economic transformation.

Speaking during the opening session, Tanzania’s Principal ICT Officer at the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Philemon Machaine, said the engagements would contribute significantly towards reducing the cost of telecommunications services across the region.

“We appreciate the decision to host these important meetings in Dar es Salaam, recognising that the outcomes will contribute significantly towards reducing the cost of telecommunications services and improving communication across the region,” Machaine said.

The Chairperson of the meeting and Principal Regional Integration Officer for Science and Technology at Uganda’s Ministry of EAC Affairs, George Lwevoola, said discussions on regional mobile roaming formally started in 2013 and have since made steady progress.

According to Lwevoola, initiatives such as the One Network Area have provided valuable lessons in efforts aimed at making communication services affordable within the region.

“Efforts aimed at making communications affordable within the region have been ongoing for more than a decade. While significant progress has been made, Partner States have jointly implemented initiatives, including the One Network Area, which continue to inform development of a sustainable and harmonised regional roaming framework,” he said.

Opening the meeting, the EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Infrastructure, Productive, Social and Political Sectors, Hon. Andrea Ariik Malueth, said affordable and seamless communication is critical for regional integration and digital transformation.

“Affordable and seamless communication across borders is essential for deepening regional integration, supporting trade, and enabling East Africans to fully participate in the digital economy,” Ariik said.

He noted that despite the EAC Roaming Framework adopted in 2014, helping to reduce communication costs, challenges such as high roaming charges, inconsistent implementation, and varying regulatory approaches among Partner States still persist.

According to the EAC Secretariat, high roaming charges continue to affect cross-border traders, transport operators, tourists, students and businesses that rely heavily on mobile communication services while travelling within the region.

The ongoing engagements are reviewing findings from a regional study on the implementation of the current roaming framework and discussing a draft long-term Regional Mobile Roaming Framework intended to establish a harmonised regulatory mechanism for international mobile roaming services within the Community.

The study, conducted by the EAC Secretariat with support from the World Bank under the Eastern African Regional Digital Integration Project, identified challenges including inconsistencies in regulatory and commercial practices, high interconnection and transit costs, tax disparities, fraud risks, and inconsistent quality of service.

The study also observed that the current framework remains largely voice-centric and does not adequately address the growing demand for affordable data services needed to support e-commerce, digital payments, and online services across the region.

To address these challenges, the proposed framework recommends harmonised measures aimed at strengthening consumer protection, establishing cost-based tariffs, improving enforcement mechanisms, and enhancing the quality of service.

Speaking on the ongoing discussions around roaming charges within the EAC, Airtel Uganda Public Relations Manager David Birungi said policy and regulatory differences among Partner States remain a key challenge.

“We have Airtel across Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda, but each government has its own regulations and rates. It is not possible to apply the same rates across all countries because of the operating costs involved,” Birungi said.

He explained that international roaming charges are influenced by interconnection costs and national policies, noting that calls made to Nairobi cannot be charged the same way as domestic calls within Uganda.

“The interconnection calls are possible, and technology is not the problem, but the policy and the infrastructure,” he added.

The outcomes of the week-long meetings will later be submitted to the Sectoral Council on Transport, Communications and Meteorology for consideration and possible adoption as the region pushes to strengthen digital connectivity and integration.