Tanzania joins East African community initiative to abolish roaming charges
January 26th 2021
Faced with pressure from its peers in East Africa, Tanzania has decided to take part in the project to reduce the cost of international communications in the region. The country that is five years behind had until the first quarter of 2021 to come into good standing.
The Republic of Tanzania has joined the “One Area Network” (OAN), adopted by member countries of the Community of East African States (EAC) for the harmonization of call rates in the sub-region. Only Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan already applied the new international mobile roaming tariffs indicated by this initiative officially launched in January 2015.
In correspondence to the EAC secretariat, Stephen Mbundi, the permanent secretary of the Tanzanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, informed the sub-regional executive body that “ the United Republic of Tanzania has concluded the consultations and is now ready to begin the process. implementation of the CAE roaming framework ”.
The correspondence from Tanzania comes as the country was in the sights of EAC’s Transport, Communications and Meteorology (TCM) Sector Council. At its 16 th meeting from 24 to 28 June 2019 in Kampala, Uganda, he had given to Tanzania to March 31, 2021 to complete its analysis on the implementation of “One Area Network”.
Once the implementation of the “One Area Network” by Tanzania is effective, the EAC expects a consolidation of sub-regional integration, while waiting for Burundi to also decide to take the plunge.
The populations will be able to communicate more at low cost. A boon for traders, entrepreneurs, and businessmen in the sub-region who will be called upon to exchange and travel more with the entry into force, since January 4, 2021, of the African continental free trade area.
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