The telecommunications regulators of Liberia and Ghana have begun discussions on a free roaming agreement.
According to a statement from the Telecommunications Authority of Liberia, this is the first move to implement a process that will charge local rates to mobile phone users in both countries while subscribers are visiting.
In 2017, ECOWAS issued a regulation to control international wholesale and retail roaming markets, calling on states to work out lower termination fees to reduce charges and boost travel, trade and tourism in the region.
Ideally, all 15 ECOWAS states would reduce roaming charges to the same price as their country.
Currently, most subscribers calling between Liberia and Ghana use Internet-based applications such as WhatsApp, Messenger, Signal and Telegram. Such calls require a smartphone and a data plan. However, visitors from Liberia to Ghana and vice versa currently need to purchase a local sim card in the destination country. Through the local SIM card, they can activate voice credits to that local number or activate data for internet calls using the number from their home country.
If agreed between the two countries, the roaming arrangement would require commercial solutions from the carriers, allowing for the economic implementation of the agreements under the ECOWAS regulation.
The Telecommunications Authority of Liberia issued an Order in 2020 calling on the country’s mobile network operators to implement the ECOWAS regulation. However, activation was very slow. Service providers cite, among many issues, a lack of momentum to initiate bilateral engagements. They said they would also like the LTA to remove the charge on ECOWAS international inbound traffic and curb roaming fraud, which is rampant in some West African countries.
The LTA Board of Commissioners is in Ghana to finalize the preliminary agreement that will see Liberia establish its first roaming relationship to improve the telecommunications landscape.
Deputy Commissioner for International Gateway Systems Angela Cassell Bush, who also chairs the LTA leadership in the absence of her colleague, Abdullah Kamara, recognizes the importance of this first step.
“This is great news, the ongoing discussions from Accra, Ghana, with members of the Deputy Board of the Telecommunications Authority of Liberia,” Bush says. “We look forward to more engagements. and more discussions with other ECOWAS member countries with a view to working with Liberia on this zero cost roaming. So we are very excited and look forward to more engagement.”
Commissioners are expected to return to the country on Wednesday.