06 September 2022

Roaming between Togo and Gabon will incur no additional charges after a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the two countries.

The agreement, signed in Libreville, Gabon, sees the abolition of roaming charges and a major reduction in prices for voice, data and SMS services while roaming. The rationale behind the decision is to promote the mobility of citizens of the two non-neighbouring countries.

“It will now be possible to use a Togolese SIM card in Gabon and vice versa without paying roaming charges,” regulators of the two countries told west African media. “In addition the two authorities said that “receiving calls will now be free and calls made in the country visited will be billed at local rates excluding packages, i.e. up to 10 times cheaper than currently”.

This protocol is understood to be part of the creation of a single African market within the Smart Africa Alliance, a partnership among 32 African countries aiming to accelerate sustainable socio-economic development on the African continent through usage of ICTs and through better access to broadband services.

After agreeing to do so in 2020, the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), of which Gabon is a part, abolished roaming charges among its members late last year.