It was just the other day that it was announced that the African emerging market was intensely shifting and was beating some of the renowned economies owing it to the technology; now it looks like we have new giants that are steadily making the continent grow and this are the telecommunication companies.
It has been found that MTN, Bharti Airtel, Etisalat and six other leading mobile operator groups in Africa and the Middle East are directly contributing $60 billion to the sub-Saharan African economy which is six percent of gross domestic products (GDP).
This are not the only players in the industry as other telcos like Millicom, Ooredoo, Orange, STC, Vodafone and Zain account for over 500 million mobile connections across 48 countries in Africa and the Middle East.
These nine operator groups say that they have just begun and is each looking at designing ideas to cut the roaming cost for their customers across Africa and the Middle East. These initiatives, they say, will address pricing; improve regional connectivity and mobility by increasing roaming footprints to provide greater customer choice, with a particular focus on improving routes for pre-paid customers.
The director general of GSM Association, Anne Bouverot said that international and regional mobility is a critical factor in increasing trade and cross-border economic cooperation which is a government priority across Africa and the Middle East.
“The initiatives of these nine operators are to increase connectivity and make mobile more affordable for subscribers throughout these regions, encouraging greater adoption and usage of mobile services and enabling important socioeconomic benefits,” said Bouverot.
As part of their work, the operators will look at a range of factors that affect roaming prices with the aim of improving technical efficiency and reducing costs.
The telecommunications companies have been a good instrument for the growth of technology, they have made internet accessibly to many through the mobile phone. It is through this that many can have created Applications that help solve some of Africa’s problems and many more are still coming up. In crushing the roaming charge business will be growing extensively.