Rwanda, Kenya SMS rates to fall

Sending a text message and accessing mobile data between Kenya and Rwanda will soon be tax-free for mobile phone subscribers. FILE | TEA GRAPHIC 

By CHRISTABEL LIGAMI, TEA Special Correspondent

In Summary

• The two countries have agreed to remove tariff charges this month, for short message services (SMS) and data in order to fully implement the One Network Area initiative they adopted last year.
• The cost of an SMS while roaming in Rwanda and Uganda will be $0.12 in bundles, and $0.22 out of bundle; in Kenya, sending an SMS will cost $0.11 in bundles, and $0.20 out of bundle.
• In the One Network Area, partner states agreed that the wholesale price for SMS within the region will not be more than $0.30 cents per SMS, inclusive of all applicable taxes, and the retail price will not exceed $0.60 cents per SMS.

Sending a text message and accessing mobile data between Kenya and Rwanda will soon be tax-free for mobile phone subscribers.

The two countries have agreed to remove tariff charges this month, for short message services (SMS) and data in order to fully implement the One Network Area initiative they adopted last year.

However, subscribers in Uganda will have to wait until the country’s phone operators are ready to implement the proposal to remove taxes on SMS and data roaming across the three countries.

“Consultations on the cost and technologies applied in mobile data and SMS roaming are still underway by the stakeholders, and the One Network Area for data and SMS will be implemented at the end of August,” said Uganda at the recent Northern Corridor Infrastructure Summit in Kampala.

The cost of an SMS while roaming in Rwanda and Uganda will be $0.12 in bundles, and $0.22 out of bundle; in Kenya, sending an SMS will cost $0.11 in bundles, and $0.20 out of bundle.

In the One Network Area, partner states agreed that the wholesale price for SMS within the region will not be more than $0.30 cents per SMS, inclusive of all applicable taxes, and the retail price will not exceed $0.60 cents per SMS.

The retail rate is the cost incurred in distributing SMSs and calls within a country. The wholesale rate is the agreed interconnection rate between networks.

Wholesale charges represent the fees the visited network charges the home network for letting its customers roam on its network.

The new charges were agreed on by the partner states at a meeting of regulators held on March 5 based on their consultations with the operators; the resolution was adopted at the Summit earlier this month by Presidents Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Paul Kagame of Rwanda.

READ: Partner states remove tariff charges on calls and SMSs

The drop in roaming charges is expected to stimulate growth in the telecommunications sector and promote cross-border trade.

Kenya and Rwanda reported that they have completed linking their SIM card registration to their national ID databases, and are awaiting a legal opinion by their Attorneys General on the data sharing framework of the National ID and SIM card data before August. 

Uganda’s issuance of IDs has commenced; the legal framework required to provide for linking SIM card registration with the National ID database is now ready, and the SIM card and ID data integration will be complete by the end of October.

READ: IDs, Sim card links key to registration

According to the Northern Corridor ministers’ report presented in Kampala during the summit, Kenya and Rwanda have finalised the process of registering all the SIM cards and deactivating the unregistered SIM cards.