EAC Seeks Framework to Monitor Mobile Roaming Charges
East African Community members are pushing for a regional system to track roaming fees and operator compliance with the One Network Area initiative.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Telecommunications
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The East African Community sought a regional framework to monitor roaming charges and mobile operators' compliance with its One Network Area initiative. The push comes as implementation of the initiative has varied across member states.
Why it matters
Cross-border mobile calls and roaming fees affect travelers, businesses and families moving across East Africa. Without a regional monitoring mechanism, uneven enforcement among partner states has left the cost savings the initiative was designed to deliver inconsistent.
Airtel Rwanda's wholesale charge for calling back home dropped from up to 50 cents to 4 cents, and retail roaming charges fell from $3 to 10 cents. Officials have not yet established a regional mechanism to verify that all partner states are applying the caps.
The players
East African Community (EAC)
A regional intergovernmental organization of eight East African partner states that promotes economic and political integration across the region.
Airtel Rwanda
The Rwandan subsidiary of the pan-African mobile operator Airtel, which has been affected by changes to wholesale call charges under the initiative.
The details
The One Network Area initiative caps wholesale and retail roaming tariffs under a framework adopted by the Council of Ministers in November 2014 and endorsed by the Summit of Heads of State in February 2015. Regulators in partner states set charges according to their own grounds and operators, and some operators disguise international calls as local traffic to exploit lower charges.
Timeline
November 2014: Council of Ministers adopted the EAC Regional Roaming Framework.
February 2015: Summit of Heads of State endorsed the roaming framework.
2023: Rwanda recorded higher One Network Area traffic volumes than Tanzania.
May 2026: Enhanced Regional Roaming Framework was technically validated.
November 3, 2026: Oversight meeting on One Network Area implementation was held in Kigali.
Regional Integration Context
The effort builds on the EAC Regional Roaming Framework adopted in 2014 and endorsed in 2015, which set the caps that the proposed enhanced framework would extend to all eight partner states and to SMS and data roaming. The push reflects a broader regional effort to lower cross-border communication costs through integrated telecom policy.
Travelers and businesses making calls across East African borders may see differences in roaming costs depending on their operator and country. Users are advised to check their operator's current One Network Area rates before calling across borders.
The takeaway
Cross-border mobile costs in East Africa depend heavily on how consistently regional agreements are enforced. Checking your operator's current rates before traveling can help avoid unexpected charges.
Further reading
For broader context on regional network policy, explore more Telecommunications coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The New Times.
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Have cross-border mobile call costs in East Africa fallen for ordinary users since 2015?
