EAC states want roaming costs cut to boost cross-border connectivity

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The EAC partner states are taking bold steps to make roaming across the region cheaper, fairer, and more sustainable.

So far, the Eastern Africa Regional Digital Integration Project (EARDIP) conducted national consultations with governments, regulators, and mobile operators as part of the project’s connectivity market development and integration objective to enhance the EAC One Network Area (ONA) framework.

During the consultations held at the East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, recently, partner states and sector players agreed on a new drive to strengthen the ONA framework, which has already slashed roaming costs but still faces gaps that must be addressed.

“East Africans should be able to move, trade, and connect across our borders without worrying about exorbitant phone bills. This is about making regional integration real in people’s daily lives,” Dr Franklin Makokha from the Communications Authority of Kenya said.

Meanwhile, Ferdinand Manirakiza, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Communication, Information Technologies and Media, Burundi, described these as key enablers of the free movement of people, goods and services as enshrined in the EAC Common Market Protocol.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) highlighted its determination to fully align with ONA, noting that a harmonised regional roaming regime would drive integration across the Partner States.

“DRC seeks to align fully to benefit from participation in the ONA,” Dominique Mungimba Moket, Director of Telecommunications Market Regulations, stated.

The consultations observed that the successful implementation of ONA would greatly benefit from a standardised interconnect regulatory framework, providing a common set of rules for how networks connect.

It was also disclosed that such rules would enhance cost efficiency, streamline traffic routing, and ensure fair competition across national networks.

The consultations further noted that while affordability was the primary challenge, other key issues needed to be addressed.

Stakeholders agreed the revised framework must tackle illicit practices such as SIM boxing, set fair usage rules to prevent misuse, and protect smaller operators from being priced out by larger players, as well as the need for clear regional enforcement mechanisms.

Effective consumer education campaigns were noted to be equally important, as an uninformed consumer base, even with well-designed frameworks, may fall short of delivering meaningful socio-economic impact and achieving the intended benefits of seamless cross-border connectivity.

“The message is simple, ONA must work for everyone, the trader crossing a border, the student studying abroad, and the operator investing in networks; closing the gaps in ONA will unlock vast opportunities,” Julianne Mweheire, Director of Economic Regulation, Content and Consumer Affairs, Uganda Communications Commission, added.

A revised ONA framework is expected to introduce safeguards against fraud, fair usage rules to prevent misuse and clearer regional enforcement mechanisms. It will also adapt to new technologies such as e-SIMs, IoT roaming and data-driven services, reflecting the changing landscape of digital communication.

The national consultations brought together Ministries of ICT, Ministries responsible for EAC affairs, telecommunications regulators and licensed Mobile Network Operators with roaming authorisations in the Partner States.

The objective of the consultations was to review and validate draft study findings on the enhancement of the ONA regional roaming framework for voice, data and SMS services, assess the national regulatory environment, as well as gather additional relevant technical and commercial perspectives on implementation of ONA, pricing and operational considerations to inform enhancements to the regional roaming framework.