By Hassan I. Conteh

At a meeting comprising telecoms representatives from Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Gambia, government  stakeholders and mobile network operators (MNOs) have been discussing plans to implement “similar phone calls charges on trans-border usage by subscribers.

The three day seminar has started on Wednesday 29th January and will end on Friday 31st this year.

The program is held in Freetown at Mamba Point, Lagoonda Resort, and it is aimed at implementing  ECOWAS’ Regional Roaming Regulations between these three countries, Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Gambia.

The ongoing negotiations followed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) being developed between Ghana and the Gambia few years back.

“The (MOU) has set the stage for our discourse today,” says Mr Solo Sima, deputy director of Gambia Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PUTRA).

Speaking at the program on Wednesday, he said, with the adoption of a free roam mobile calling services, citizens of these West Africa countries will enjoy” ease of communication”.

The Free Roaming Agreement would remove obstacles in mobile  communication, , he said, and “it will provide a seamless opportunity to mobile users because of the cross -border communication.”

Key mobile network operators existing in the three countries (Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Gambia) in attendance at the program were: Africell, Orange, Qcell and Comium Gambia Ltd.

While National Communications Authority (NatCA) of Sierra Leone was the organizer and host of the three-day event at the Lagoonda Hotel.

NatCA’s Director General, Amara Brewa, welcomed participants of the three countries and talked of the mutual benefits that the ECOWAS’ countries mobile network roaming services will have on the three nations.

“Today marks a beacon of hope; this is meant to enhance connectivity, regional collaboration, and will open doors of opportunities to mobile users as it aims to bring people closer, ” says Sierra Leone’s NatCA Director General, Alpha Brewa. Liberia  Telecommunications Authority (LTA)’s representative, Mr Abdulai, talked of the” shared vision” by the three countries, which is aimed at promoting regional connectivity and economic opportunities for Sierra Leone, Liberia and other the Gambia.

“This is a transformative future,” he said.

The Mobile Network Roaming Scheme, if implemented by the three countries, will be endorsed by The West Africa Telecommunications Regulatory Authority.

Roaming in mobile communication means equal charges on phone calls by mobile network operators to mobile users when traveling anywhere in the world.

For example, like for European countries, a fair use policy operates for mobile users, and this implies when one travels outside one’s country to another country, they don’t have to pay any additional charges for doing calls or sending text messages or otherwise.

This is known as “roaming” or “roam at home,” according to europa.eu.