Airtel Kenya has announced a reduction of call rates by 60 percent and free incoming calls for Airtel Kenya’s postpaid and prepaid customers roaming to Rwanda.
The mobile service operator has said it will offer affordable voice rates where outgoing calls while roaming in Rwanda will now be charged at Sh10 per minute down from Sh25 per minute.
The new rates apply to customers making calls from Kenya to Rwanda and customers making calls from Rwanda to Kenya.
“Regional mobility is a critical factor in increasing trade and cross-border economic cooperation, which is a priority in the East African region and beyond. At Airtel, our intention is to continue increasing connectivity and making communication more affordable for subscribers, encouraging greater adoption and usage of mobile services and enabling important socio-economic benefits,” said Airtel Kenya CEO Adil El Youssefi.
It becomes the second operator to announce the move ahead of East African community heads of state initiative that seeks to lobby for reduced cross-border calling rates.
The development is the result of intense debate by the East African Community ICT Ministers that has seen scrapping of prohibitive taxes and levies enforced by Rwanda for receiving calls while roaming in Rwanda.
Safaricom had also slashed its roaming charges by a similar margin.
The new rate applies to all international calls from Kenya to Rwanda, while those calling from Rwanda to other Rwandan network operators will be charged Sh 8 from previous Sh 17.50 per minute.
