Telecom operators in Rwanda have begun revising downwards their short message service (SMS) and data charges from Rwanda to countries within the Northern Corridor region marking the beginning of the second phase of the One Network Area.

The revised costs will apply to SMS charges from Rwanda to Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan.

Tigo Rwanda was the first to lower the charges on Tuesday this week by about 45 per cent, from Rwf75 to Rwf45.

MTN Rwanda, the country’s leading telecom company with about 50 per cent of the market share, is expected begin implementing the initiative today (Thursday) by slashing their prices to Rwf45, from Rwf60, according to the firms public relations officer, Teta Mpyisi.

Airtel Rwanda, another telecom firm, is in the process of preparatory activities to implement the second phase.

Airtel Rwanda’s managing director Teddy Bhullar said consultations with regulators were ongoing before the implementation phase.

"It is a very good initiative that we are all implementing with caution so we do not lose the benefits that it should bring,” Bhullar said told this paper.

On average, sending an SMS to any of the four countries cost about Rwf70 and an average of Rwf24 for messages within Rwanda.

The move follows a directive from the Northern Corridor Heads of State calling on member countries to eliminate additional taxes and levies on international calls, texts and data within the region.

The development comes ahead of the 11th Northern Corridor Integration Projects Heads of State Summit set for September, according to Monique Mukaruliza, the national coordinator for Northern Corridor Integration Projects.

All the operators will be expected to adjust accordingly by scraping roaming costs on SMS in the four partner states to help boost the integration process of the East African Community (EAC).

This follows the first phase of the initiative, which began in October last year, which applied to telephone calls within the region with telecommunication firms in the four nations scrapping roaming charges for subscribers making and receiving calls.

The initial phase was commended by the four Heads of State for significantly reducing calling rates across the corridor, which has led to an increase in the volume of voice calls traffic and consequently reduced the cost of doing business in the region.

Previously making calls to regional countries was more expensive than calling Europe, America or Asia.

On average, the calling cost dropped from $0.28 (Rwf193) to $0.1 (Rwf68) per minute.

Mukaruliza said the scrapping of roaming charges for calls in the first phase had seen total traffic more than double in recent months.

Telecom operators cited increased traffic and consequent rise in revenue following the implementation of the directive.

MTN’s Mpyisi said they expected to see continued growth building on the first phase which had significantly increased traffic and revenue.

"Both traffic and revenues have increased significantly since the launch of One Network Area. Incoming and outgoing traffic increased by 450% and 300% respectively, while revenue has also been impacted positively,” she said.

For Airtel Rwanda, the firm’s chief executive noted that although traffic to destinations covered by the One Network Area had increased, revenue was yet to match income generated prior to the One Network Area implementation.

The Minister for Youth and ICT, Jean Philbert Nsengimana, said the One Network Area had served to build confidence among regional governments that the overall objectives of the Northern Corridor Integration initiative would be achieved.

The ultimate aim of the initiative is to reduce the cost of doing business and open up business opportunities in the region by breaking national boundaries in the region to form a common market.

Another integration initiative in the region relating to ICT is development of a regional broadband strategy, with the aim of rolling out broadband to the entire region and increasing the section of the population that is connected.

The Northern Corridor Integration Projects cover a wide range of ambitious development initiatives including the 2000km Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) that is supposed to connect Rwanda to the Kenyan port of Mombasa, use of Identity cards as travel documents within member states, among others.

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