Move to lower calling rates in East Africa Move to lower calling rates in East Africa

President Kenyatta talks to his deputy William Ruto before leaving the country for Ethiopia May 23, 2013. The Kenya Government has called for the harmonisation of policies and the regulatory framework of the communications sector across the East African region to speed up integration and attract more investment. PHOTO/FILE 

By CHARLES WOKABI

 

In Summary

• On Monday, acting permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information Communications and Technology Bruce Madete urged regional stakeholders to find a solution to the high tariffs that East Africans have to pay when calling across borders.

The Kenya Government has called for the harmonisation of policies and the regulatory framework of the communications sector across the East African region to speed up integration and attract more investment.

Addressing the East African Communication Organisation Congress, Deputy President William Ruto challenged sector stakeholders in all member states to ensure there is seamless communication across the region without imposing policy and regulatory barriers.

“There is an undeniable correlation between development of the ICT sector and economic growth. As a region, we need to be able to communicate across borders at reasonable rates whether it is on the same or different networks,” Mr Ruto said.

This, he said, will attract investments into the region given the pivotal role played by communication in commerce.

High roaming and international calling charges have been cited as some of the major barriers to trade in East Africa.

On Monday, acting permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information Communications and Technology Bruce Madete urged regional stakeholders to find a solution to the high tariffs that East Africans have to pay when calling across borders.

“These high roaming charges negate the very essence of integration and act as a disincentive to communication and trade within the region,” Mr Madete said.

For instance, on the Safaricom network it is cheaper to call the United States and India at Sh5 per minute than Uganda or Rwanda at Sh30 per minute.

This situation is replicated in the Telkom Kenya network where calls to the United Kingdom can cost as little as Sh3 per minute while subscribers calling Uganda will be charged at least Sh18 per minute.

Mobile operators have blamed the high inter-regional calling rates and roaming charges on unfair taxation policies adopted by the member states.

“There is need for the governments and regulators in the region to jointly look into possible ways of making this service more affordable to customers,” Safaricom chief executive Bob Collymore told the Nation on Friday.

The EACO brings together private sector players and regulators in the information communications technology sector from all five partner states.

Mr Ruto also called for the implementation of the Universal Access Initiative meant to deepen the reach of technology to rural areas, saying the move would open up new markets for businesses.

The initiative, created through an Act of Parliament in 2009, is funded through a 0.5 per cent levy on earnings of all players in the ICT sector. Its purpose is to support widespread access to ICT services, promote capacity building and innovations in the country.

However, the fund is yet to take off with players divided over the modalities of running it. While all agree that taxing service providers 0.5 per cent of their annual revenues to be administered by a Universal Service Fund is a good idea, questions on how the money will be used and the composition of the council to administer the fund has split them.

Also discussed during the five-day congress was provision of requisite legislation on pay TV providers’ use of free-to-air content for commercial purposes, which has been termed as vague and hindering relationships between players.