14 April 2021
Tanzania has joined the project to reduce the cost of international communications in the region, following pressure from its peers in east Africa.
The republic joins the One Area Network (OAN), adopted by member countries of the Community of East African States (CAE) for the harmonisation of call rates in the sub-region.
Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan already applied the new international mobile roaming tariffs indicated by this initiative officially launched in January 2015.
Tanzania, five years behind its neighbours, had until the first quarter of 2021 to catch up.
In correspondence to the EAC secretariat, Stephen Mbundi, the permanent secretary of the Tanzanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told the sub-regional executive body that “the United Republic of Tanzania has concluded the consultations and is now ready to begin the process, implementation of the CAE roaming framework ”.
The missive comes as the country was in the sights of EAC’s Transport, Communications and Meteorological (TCM) Sector Council. At a meeting held from June 24 to 28, 2019 in Kampala, Uganda, Tanzania was given until March 31 this year to make a decision on the implementation of the “One Area Network”. Burundi is also expected to join at a later date.