Communications Authority of Kenya data indicates that Kenyans are now calling more within the East African region following the scrapping of taxes imposed on incoming voice calls by Rwandan and Ugandan governments.
Kenya is the only East African state that does not levy any taxes on cross-border calls and has been at the forefront of pushing for introduction of a common termination tariff.
Safaricom has cut roaming charges for its subscribers travelling in South Sudan to Sh10 from Sh65 per minute, offering relief for traders and visitors to the neighbouring country.
Subscribers calling South Sudan will now pay Sh10 from the previous Sh30. Safaricom has also scrapped the fee it was charging customers for receiving calls while on roaming.
The South Sudan roaming rate reduction follows a similar move by Safaricom, which in September also lowered the roaming charges for its subscriber’s visiting Uganda and Rwanda.
The report for the three months to December indicates that the number of outgoing voice minutes rose by 24.4 per cent to 17 billion, up from 14 billion in the previous quarter.
The number of calls from the neighbouring countries also went up by 8.2 per cent to 20 billion minutes from 19 billion.
Kenya is the only East African state that does not levy any taxes on cross-border calls and has been at the forefront of pushing for introduction of a common termination tariff.
“The introduction of the ‘One Area Network’ has reduced the cost of doing business, which is in line with our regional integration efforts,” ICT Cabinet secretary Fred Matiang’i told the Business Daily.
The increase in the number of Kenyan mobile phone subscribers calling the region follows intense lobbying by Safaricom and Airtel.
In September, Safaricom slashed its calling rates to Rwanda by 60 per cent to Sh10 per minute, enabling more of its customers to make international calls from Kenya to Rwanda and vice versa.
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Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
