The 14th Meeting of Focal Points of National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) on the implementation of the ECOWAS Regulation on Roaming commenced in Abuja, Nigeria on May 8, 2024. The two-day meeting aims to evaluate the progress made with the implementation of the Regulation C/REG.21/12/17 on Roaming on Public Mobile Communications Networks in the ECOWAS Space.
The regulation's objective is to reduce tariffs for mobile voice, SMS, and internet services that community citizens pay when travelling within the region. The implementation of this regulation is intended to consolidate regional cooperation and foster access to seamless communication across West Africa.
Hosted by the ECOWAS Commission, attendees included representatives from Telecommunications Regulatory Authorities of ECOWAS Member States and the Secretariat of the West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly (WATRA).
Mr. Mawuli Amoa, Programme Officer for Telecommunications and Networks delivered a welcome address on behalf of Mr. Sédiko Douka, Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitalisation at the ECOWAS Commission. He praised ongoing collaboration efforts by Regulatory Authorities to ensure consumers benefit from reduced communications charges when traveling across the region. He assured delegates that the Commission would continue supporting discourse among Member States to extend these benefits to all citizens.
Mr. Amara Brewah, Director-General of Sierra-Leone's National Communications Authority (NatCA) and Chairman of WATRA's Executive Committee commended the Commission for organising the meeting. He encouraged Member States with advanced regulatory initiatives for lowering roaming tariffs charged by their operators to share experiences with other Member States yet to implement such measures.
Mr Lanciné Fofana, focal point of Cote d’Ivoire's Regulatory Authority for Telecommunications/ICT and Posts (ARTCI) and Coordinator of Focal Points highlighted removing barriers to smooth and affordable cross-border communications as significant in a region already ensuring the free movement of people within the community. He encouraged participants to adopt a hands-on approach towards successfully executing the ECOWAS Regulation on Roaming.
Over two days, the meeting will address various topics, including follow-ups on outcomes of previous meetings, updates on implementation status by NRAs, and sharing experiences on successful implementation of bilateral arrangements between regulators. The expected outcome is a report providing each country's situation regarding the regulation’s implementation for consideration by Ministers in charge of Telecommunications/ICT in ECOWAS Member States.
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