East African parliament seek harmonisation of internet access
The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) has called on member states to make internet access and communication in the region seamless. The regional lawmakers urged industry regulators to encourage all mobile operators in the region to adopt a single network, as applied by Airtel Africa.
In order to harmonise roaming on call costs, EALA also wants the Council of Ministers from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda to introduce a uniform price cap regulation for roaming mobile costs within the East African Community, the Monitor reported.
The House was informed that although the region had made important strides in the development of an ICT Policy and regulatory framework, regulators needed to emphasise timely implementation and update their e-strategies.
In order to be holistic, national and regional policy and regulatory frameworks should address the entire ICT eco-system if these countries and the region are to build a sustainable communication sector and to take advantage of the opportunities created by the global digital revolution. Burundi House member Yves Nsabimana said that harmonisation of policies would be recommended despite the challenges the move poses. Source