The Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, announced on February 18th that Ghana had successfully implemented the ECOWAS free roaming initiative in collaboration with Cote d’Ivoire.
Driving The News
The initiative focuses on promoting greater integration among ECOWAS member states and reducing roaming charges within the sub-region. Citizens of both Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire can now access the internet without incurring international charges.
Additionally, individuals can make and receive calls while being charged at the local rate of the country they are currently in.
Why This Matters
The successful implementation is expected to contribute to improved international connectivity and collaboration within the ECOWAS region.
What They’re Saying
“Ghana has also taken a bold step to implement the free-roaming initiative which was adopted in 2016 but suffered implementation challenges. In June 2023, we went into a bilateral discussion with Cote d’Ivoire to implement this initiative and the two countries became the first ECOWAS countries to implement the free-roaming initiative to promote greater integration among member states and decrease roaming charges within the sub-region.” Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful said.
“This simply means that Ghanaian subscribers of any network in Ghana visiting Cote d’Ivoire will receive calls without paying any international roaming charges and will be charged the Cote d’Ivoire local rate when making calls to Ghana while in Cote d’Ivoire and vice versa. Subscribers travelling between both countries also be exempt from international roaming charges.”
Zoom Out
Ghana has signed a similar agreement with Togo which is expected to be executed by March 2024.
Additionally, she said, the National Communication Authority has received calls from Benin and Gambia to establish a similar bilateral process.
Last year, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana signed agreements to scrap mobile roaming charges among the three countries.
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