TANZANIA is finalizing plans of being part of the East African Community (EAC) roaming framework.
In an interview with ‘Daily News’ yesterday, the Director of Communications Services at the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Clarence Ichekweleza assured that the country would join the framework before September this year.
According to Engineer Ichekelezwa, Tanzania was scrutinizing and evaluating the new arrangement before it joined other partner states in the roaming framework, despite mounting pressure from EAC Transport, Communications and Meteorology Sector Council.
“It was prudent to due diligence before getting into such an agreement… it is important to gauge the pros and cons that come with the regional roaming framework,” explained Eng Ichekelezwa.
He insisted that Tanzania had laid sound systems that would deter fraudulent activities as prerequisite to join the new arrangement, noting that some of the countries that had already become part of roaming framework failed to.
She singled out the Telecom Traffic Monitoring System (TTMS) stationed at the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) as
“This was an important step in joining the framework lest out country becomes a hotspot for cross border fraudsters,” she said.
Eng Ichekelezwa further appealed to other partner states to put in place such mechanisms as an important step for a unified telephone roaming system in East Africa, which is also known as One Network Area (ONA).
She further revealed that the country was currently reviewing its legal framework before it becomes part of ONA.
The regulations will first be gazeted before Tanzania to joins the regional roaming framework, according to Eng Ichekelezwa.
She added that the country stands to reap big from ONA, thus the need for fast-tracking the process before September this year.
The country’s assurance comes a day after the EAC Sectoral Council on Transport Communications and Meteorology (TCM) directed Tanzania to adhere to the set date of 30th September, 2021 on the implementation of the EAC Roaming Framework.
The new arrangement promises cheaper calls across the bloc due to harmonised calling rates.
This means that charges on roaming voice calls in Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania will be eliminated.
However, it is only Tanzania and Burundi that have yet to be part of the system.
In its letter dated December 18 2020, Tanzania informed the Secretariat that it had concluded its internal consultations and was ready to implement the EAC Roaming Framework.
The EAC Secretariat conveyed the decision of the United Republic of Tanzania through a letter dated 20th January 2021.
Burundi, on its part, told the TCM that internal consultations on the implementation of the framework were ongoing.
The country said it had already received data on the status of implementation from Uganda.
Burundi further requested other Partner States who had implemented the framework to share the data.
The benefits of the system include easier and cheaper communication that will promote the ease of doing business in the region.
It requires mobile network operators to renegotiate and reduce wholesale tariffs and a waiver of excise taxes and surcharges on incoming voice traffic while establishing wholesale and retail price caps on outbound ONA traffic.
The EAC Roaming framework was developed and approved by the 30th Meeting of the Council of Ministers in 2014 and endorsed by the EAC Heads of State in February 2015.
The framework imposed price caps on roaming charges and called for the removal of surcharges on cross-border telecommunications traffic.