Safaricom slashes roaming rates for 21 countries

NAIROBI, KENYA: Safaricom has announced significant reductions in roaming rates for its subscribers after negotiations with its global network of partners and regional governments.

The creation of a new roaming bundle will enable subscribers to enjoy reduced roaming charges in 21 countries located in North and Central Africa, Europe and New Zealand. In addition, subscribers travelling to Rwanda and the United Arab Emirates shall enjoy reduced rates for calls made to Kenya.

“We always place the needs of our customers at the forefront of our business. We have aggressively lobbied countries and our partners to ensure our subscribers can enjoy the same reliable communication services they have come to know in Kenya when they travel at significantly reduced rates,” said Bob Collymore, CEO Safaricom.

Following the signing of a new agreement with Vodafone affiliates, for just Sh200, subscribers can access up to 10 minutes of voice services, 10 SMS, and 10MBs of data in 21 countries, providing subscribers with a simple solution for their roaming needs.

Safaricom has secured the roaming agreements through its affiliates in Albania, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Malta, New Zealand, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Netherlands, Turkey, United Kingdom, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Lesotho, and Mozambique among other countries.

In practice, the development means that a subscriber who travels to Egypt will now pay just Sh200 for ten minutes of conversation, down from the previous charges of over Sh900.

For subscribers who are travelling to  the United Arab Emirates and roaming on Etisalat, calling rates have come down by 85 per cent, while data customers will now pay Sh100 per MB, down from the Sh1,020 that was charged previously.

The news follows Safaricom’s recent announcement of reduction of roaming charges in Rwanda, where costs came down by up to 60 per cent. The company is also pursuing targeted agreements with other countries in the East African bloc such as Uganda and Tanzania.