The EAC Bloc appears to want to make sure roaming charges are the same as the usual local calls
Arusha — The East African Community (EAC) is pushing for far deeper reforms to roaming charges, aiming to make cross-border communication cheaper and fairer for citizens across the region.
The move comes a decade after Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda introduced uniform roaming fees under the One Network Area (ONA) in October 2014.
At the time, regulators in the three countries capped roaming charges to end years of steep cross-border fees, which had seen Rwandans pay as much as RWF 144 (about USD 0.20) just to receive a call.
Calls to neighboring Uganda and Burundi were also hiked sharply, prompting widespread calls to scrap roaming surcharges altogether.
South Sudan later joined the pact, while Tanzania, Burundi, and now the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Somalia have been pressed to align with the ONA framework.
Today, roaming costs remain a top concern. At national consultations held late last month under the Eastern Africa Regional Digital Integration Project (EARDIP), governments, regulators, and mobile operators agreed that gaps remain despite earlier progress.
Stakeholders endorsed a revised ONA framework to set fair usage rules, tackle fraud, protect smaller operators, and expand consumer education.
Latest proposals also seek to cap roaming tariffs at very low levels: USD 0.007 per minute for calls and USD 0.005 per MB for data, according to regional reports.
These changes would bring East African roaming rates closer to domestic prices, making it easier for traders, students, and travelers to stay connected without facing exorbitant bills.
If the new caps are adopted, the cost of making or receiving calls across borders would fall dramatically for Rwandans.
In 2012, a roaming call cost about USD 0.20 per minute, but under the proposed regional framework the charge would drop to USD 0.007 per minute. This represents a 96.5 percent reduction, effectively bringing roaming rates close to domestic call prices and removing one of the biggest barriers to affordable cross-border communication.
For ordinary citizens, it means traders, students, and travelers can move across the region without worrying about crippling phone bills.
Officials stressed that the reforms are not just about affordability but also about integration.
“East Africans should be able to move, trade, and connect across our borders without worrying about exorbitant phone bills,” said Dr. Franklin Makokha of Kenya’s Communications Authority.
Rwanda’s representative, Fidel Karenzi, reaffirmed Kigali’s commitment to support any citizen-focused digital initiative with clear socio-economic benefits.
The EAC Secretariat said the enhanced framework will also adapt to new technologies such as e-SIMs, Internet of Things (IoT) roaming, and data-driven services, ensuring that the region’s digital transformation keeps pace with global standards.
For ordinary citizens, the reforms promise lower roaming charges, better connectivity, and easier communication across borders, a tangible step in bringing the ideals of regional integration into daily life.
