Senegal’s Telecommunications
and Posts Regulatory Authority (ARTP) and Burkina Faso’s Regulatory Authority
of Electronic Communications and Posts (ARCEP) have signed a bilateral
memorandum of understanding on community roaming, aimed at facilitating access
to voice, SMS and mobile data services for subscribers travelling between the
two countries.
The agreement was signed in Ouagadougou,
Burkina Faso, on the sidelines of a meeting of the Committee of National
Digital Regulators of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU)
zone.
The agreement seeks to
improve communication for Senegalese and Burkinabe subscribers travelling
between the two countries by allowing them to access services under the
conditions provided for in the protocol.
Community roaming mainly
involves receiving calls free of charge and making calls at the local rate of
the country visited.
ARTP Director General Cheikh
Tidiane Sarr described the initiative as a concrete step forward in regional
digital integration and improving the user experience. He also called on
telecommunications operators to work diligently towards the effective
implementation of the agreement.
Beyond roaming services,
Sarr called for enhanced cooperation between regulators in areas including the
interoperability of digital financial services, co-regulation with relevant
monetary and financial authorities, and emerging challenges related to digital
platforms and new technologies.
The agreement forms part of
broader efforts to strengthen regional cooperation and make digital services
more accessible and efficient for citizens and businesses across the region.
Through
the initiative, Senegal’s ARTP reaffirmed its commitment to developing a
