East Africa: Safaricom to End All East Africa Roaming Charges
Allafrica writes…Say goodbye to roaming charges on Safaricom lines used in Uganda and Tanzania: Kenya’s leading mobile operator has partnered with MTN Uganda and Vodacom Tanzania to provide a joint network for subscribers within East Africa.
The network will be formally launched on February 1 in Kampala. Subscribers will then be able to use their Safaricom lines in the neighbouring countries for no extra cost.
The partnership between MTN, Vodacom and Safaricom will see the three offer a service to rival Celtel’s ‘One Network’. Celtel, which operates in all three countries, launched a seamless cross border network in September 2006.
Ugandan media reports quote Mr Eric van Veen, MTN’s chief commercial officer, saying his firm had already signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with Safaricom and Vodacom Tanzania. Safaricom’s top executives declined to elaborate on the deal ahead of the launch.
Meanwhile, the Kenyan mobile phone service provider has launched a new promotion for its customers.
Chief Executive, Mr Michael Joseph said the new ‘Bonga’ programme would reward all Safaricom subscribers with points based on their usage and lifetime on the network. The points, he said, would be kept in customers’ accounts and used to win various prizes, including airtime and other merchandise.
“For every Sh10 spent on voice calls, SMS or data, subscribers will get a minimum of one Bonga point,” he said.
To take part in the reward programme, Safaricom subscribers are required to enrol by sending a free SMS with the word ‘Bonga’ to 125.
