Safaricom forced to backtrack on Kenya-Rwanda roaming rates

Safaricom forced to backtrack on Kenya-Rwanda roaming rates
Gareth van Zyl
By Gareth van Zyl, Editor, ITWeb Africa
03 Oct 2014

It's back to square one for Safaricom regarding its bid to lower roaming rates between Kenya and Rwanda.

Earlier this week, Safaricom released a press statement saying that as of October 1 its customers visiting Rwanda can make calls to Rwanda's networks at Kshs. 10, "which is a 43% drop from the initial rate of Kshs. 17.50 per min".

Safaricom further said that "customers making international calls from Kenya to Rwanda, and vice versa, will be billed at a rate of Kshs. 10 per minute".

Safaricom said this agreement was reached after East African Community (EAC) ICT ministers helped to 'scrap' Rwandan taxes and levies for receiving calls while roaming in Rwanda.

But Safaricom has since pulled this statement from its website as the Rwandan government this week instead announced the introduction of additional levies on international calling and roaming tariffs with Kenya.

"We will therefore revert to the previous tariffs even as we push on with efforts to ensure we have affordable calling rates for the region," Collymore has been widely quoted in Kenya's press.

Collymore has further been quoted as saying that Safaricom intends approaching Kenyan government officials and the Communications Authority of Kenya in an attempt to seek a revision of the decision by Rwanda's government.

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