Officials from national telecommunications regulatory authorities in the East African Community (EAC) decided to accelerate the implementation of a harmonized regional mobile roaming framework in order to reduce communication costs and strengthen regional integration.
They announced this following a meeting held in Dar es Salaam on Thursday, May 28. During this meeting, they examined a draft “strengthened regional mobile roaming framework” intended to guarantee “affordable, seamless, secure and harmonized” cross-border services.
John Wallace Daffa, director of compliance and licensing at the Tanzanian Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA), indicated that these measures will promote the free movement of people, goods and services, while reducing business costs.
Discussions also covered pricing mechanisms, consumer protection, monitoring compliance with common rules, and technical and operational coordination between operators and regulators.
In the coming days, national authorities will proceed to harmonize tariff policies, supervise the quality of services and strengthen dispute resolution and anti-fraud mechanisms.
The meeting was organised by the EAC secretariat as part of the East Africa Regional Digital Integration Project (EARDIP), funded by the World Bank, with the participation of the East African Communications Organisation (EACO) and the Smart Africa Alliance.
