Free roaming: Mali and Benin and Togo and Mali sign bilateral protocol

As part of the implementation of Ecowas regulation C/REG.21/12/17 on roaming within the community, after Côte d'Ivoire on December 06, 2023, Togo signed a new free roaming protocol agreement with Mali on December 9, 2023. December 11 also saw the signing in Lomé of a bilateral free roaming agreement between Mali and Benin.

The bilateral agreements signed will enable roaming cell phone users in Togo, Mali and Benin to communicate at lower cost, thanks to the abolition of roaming charges.Saidou Pona Sankaré, President of Mali's Amrtp, and Hervé Coovi Guèdègbé, Executive Secretary of Arcep Benin, and Michel Yaovi Galley, Managing Director of Arcep Togo.ral of Togo's Arcep came at the end of a two-day meeting in Lomé attended by the three regulators, consumer associations and representatives of mobile operators from Mali, Benin and Togo.

The effective implementation of free roaming between Benin and Mali, and between Mali and Togo, by February 29, 2024 at the latest, will result in a significant reduction in rates for travelers from these countries in one of the signatory countries (Benin, Mali and Togo). Indeed, thanks to this protocol, for travelers in Benin, Mali and Togo in a roaming situation, call reception will now be free for the first thirty consecutive days of their stay. Local calls will now cost a maximum of 79 FCFA per minute. Calls to the country of origin (Call Back To Home) will be capped at 150 F CFA per minute, while Internet service will be even cheaper, at a maximum of 2.2 F CFA per MB.

With the support of their respective governments, the regulatory authorities will continue their efforts to abolish roaming charges between Ecowas countries, through the multiplication of similar agreements to achieve the objective of mobility and community digital integration.

Source: matinlibre.com/