Why common roaming tarrif is impossible in ECOWAS countries

Despite efforts by the Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS) to ensure that a common and affordable roaming tariff is achievable within member states, there are hurdles making such a dream possible.

According findings by Ripples Nigeria, a lack of cooperation among mobile phone operators is the main reason.

With almost all 14 members countries of the sub regional body having celebrated, at least 10 years of mobile phone debut in 2016, reports say various tariff charges by service providers have been hampering free-trade programme of the community.

To proffer solution, ECOWAS had in 2015 set up a commission to seek a way of achieving reduced tariff on roaming services offered by the providers.

But with Nigeria leading in number of telcom firms and with the most rated tele-density, operators in the 13 other countries have complained that reduction on roaming charges will drastically reduce their revenue.

Read also: Senate moves to scrap PPPRA, DPR, others

Findings showed that while Nigerian mobile phone companies charge about $1.2 per minute as roaming price for calls within ECOWAS countries, the least an operator from other countries charge is $1.5 per minute.

Officials of MTN and Glo, in Nigeria, said, though their charges are moderate, moves are being made to further reduce call roaming costs within ECOWAS countries.

But the ECOWAS Commissioner for Telecommunications and Information Technology, Dr Isaias Bareto da Rosa, was not convinced on the promise.

While rounding off his working visit to Nigeria on Friday, he told newsmen in Abuja that the solution to the problem is to aim at having a single digital market within the region.

“We have free movement of people and goods in the sub-region but I would say that we do not have free movement of voice and data in the sub-region.

According to him, roaming charges are almost half of what is paid in countries outside ECOWAS countries, adding that an urgent solution should be found.

“If you are roaming in Europe, you pay roughly N60 per minute. When you roam between Burkina Faso and Nigeria, you pay N300 per minute.

“This is not right because we are in the same sub-region, promoting regional integration, we have free movement of people and goods, but we need to do something on voice and data traffic.

“That is why we are working to come up with a regional legal text on roaming in order to reduce or eventually eliminate roaming charges within the sub-region so that our citizens can move freely across borders in West Africa; and so also that they can have at least affordable roaming charges.

Bareto da Rosa explained that there was an ongoing study on cross-border interconnection and roaming which regional stakeholders are deliberating on.

He added that the commission was set to move ahead with a regional legal document to promote affordable roaming costs in the sub-region.

“We are still going to have another meeting this year and the decision is up to the member states.

“We do not believe that we should do this without taking into consideration all the key players in the telecoms sector and the inputs that it can bring to the entire process“, he stated.

 

 

RipplesNigeria ….without borders, without fears

Click here to download the Ripples Nigeria App for latest updates

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now