{"id":79281,"date":"2023-06-19T21:33:21","date_gmt":"2023-06-19T19:33:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/sadc-countries-scrap-roaming-charges-2"},"modified":"2023-06-20T00:37:41","modified_gmt":"2023-06-19T22:37:41","slug":"sadc-countries-scrap-roaming-charges-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/sadc-countries-scrap-roaming-charges-2","title":{"rendered":"SADC countries scrap roaming charges"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. <\/strong><\/span>MOBILE users in Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana will no longer be charged extra when they cross borders.<\/p>\n

The initiative in the four Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries is part of a move to create a One Network Area (ONA).<\/p>\n

An initiative for single digital markets are in place in the East African Community (EAC) too.<\/p>\n

Cross-border travellers in Africa generally face high internet and mobile roaming tariffs .<\/p>\n

Mercy Kachere is a Malawian businesswoman who traverses Zambia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. The move to scrap roaming charges will mean she can stay in touch with her family in Lilongwe while on business trips.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is good news to any citizen from these countries. As a business lady, I travel a lot to these countries to procure different goods for my stationery and textile retail shops in my home country Malawi,\u201d Kachere told DW.<\/p>\n

She had come to consider high roaming costs another fixed overhead expenditure.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been subjected to interrupted phone conversations with my family members each time I travel because of the high costs that mobile phone companies charge on mere phone and voice calls, including roaming service,\u201d Kachere said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy only request is that it spreads across Africa if communication on the continent is to improve as it affects many business operators.\u201d<\/p>\n

A \u2018model of regional integration\u2019<\/p>\n

Sam Ndlovu, a manager at a media organization in Zambia and regular traveller, believes that roaming charges have been excessive.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt times, you are forced to buy sim cards for networks of the country you are visiting, which turns out to be really expensive,\u201d Ndlovu told DW.<\/p>\n

In an interview with DW, Mark Setshwane, the director of business and development for Botswana\u2019s communications regulatory authority, said a single digital market \u201cis quite important for our region in many forms.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is one model of regional integration that we have managed to achieve as SADC. We are small economies, but there is always power in numbers,\u201d Setshwane added.<\/p>\n

What will it take for Africa to connect?<\/p>\n

\u201cNearly 1.1 billion new unique users must be connected to achieve universal, affordable, and good quality broadband internet access by 2030,\u201d according to a 2019 World Bank\/UN Broadband Commission report.<\/p>\n

An estimated additional $100 billion would be needed to reach that goal over the next decade.<\/p>\n

The report also states that connecting the unconnected would also require innovative and alternative solutions to reach the nearly 100 million people living in remote areas, out of a range of traditional mobile networks.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Zimbabwe<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. MOBILE users in Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana will no longer be charged extra when they cross borders. The initiative in the four Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries is part of a move to create a One Network Area (ONA). An initiative for single digital markets are in place in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":79280,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,12],"tags":[1493,2189,19],"class_list":["post-79281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-zimbabwe-2","tag-zimbabwe"],"yoast_head":"\nSADC countries scrap roaming charges - zimbabwe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"MOBILE users in Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana will no longer be charged extra when they cross borders. 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