KAMPALA, Uganda — Telecommunications stakeholders from across Africa gathered in Kampala for a pivotal workshop on the One Africa Network (OAN) and the East African Community’s (EAC) One Network Area (ONA) on March 7, 2025. The event, jointly hosted by Smart Africa and the EAC Secretariat, focused on advancing digital integration and reducing barriers to affordable communication across the continent.
The OAN and ONA initiatives aim to eliminate excessive roaming charges and harmonize telecommunications regulations to foster greater connectivity and economic growth. With mobile network operators, regulators, policymakers, and development partners in attendance, the workshop addressed key challenges in achieving a unified digital framework for Africa.
Smart Africa’s Senior Director of Strategy and Growth, Didier Nkurikiyimfura, highlighted the organization’s commitment to digital transformation, emphasizing its role in connecting Africa’s digital economy and advancing regional integration.
“The goal is to create a seamless, interconnected digital economy, a vision shared by Smart Africa’s 40 member countries,” said Nkurikiyimfura.
Eng. Daniel Murenzi, representing the EAC, provided an update on the EAC’s progress, stating that six of its eight member states had already adopted ONA. The initiative, launched in 2015, has significantly lowered roaming costs, and efforts are underway to extend it to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia.
The workshop also explored the challenges of implementing OAN, such as the disparity in network infrastructure investment and the need for regulatory alignment across nations. Ensuring interoperability between different telecom networks and creating a fair pricing model for roaming services were also major points of discussion.
Experts at the workshop recommended a gradual rollout of a Continental Roaming Framework and stressed the importance of cooperation between governments, regulators, and telecom operators. They also highlighted the need for measures to address fraud, enhance inter-operator settlements, and develop a clear implementation strategy for international roaming.
The stakeholders concluded the workshop with a renewed commitment to harmonizing policies and infrastructure to ensure a seamless telecommunications experience for all Africans.
