The Senate of Burundi unanimously adopted on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, at its headquarters in the political capital of Gitega, the bill on the ratification by the Republic of Burundi of the East African Community (EAC) protocol on information and communication technology networks signed in Kigali in 2013. Remember that the signatories of this protocol will now use a single communication network.
In her presentation of the reasons, the minister in charge of telecommunications, Léocadie Ndacayisaba, returned to the advantages of ratifying this protocol. She cited in particular the ease of interoperability of networks; improved quality of services and reduction of communication prices, she stressed. She used the example of One Network Area, which had already reduced the cost of mobile calls to 190 Burundi Francs per minute in the East African Community sub-region.
However, the representatives of the people wonder why Burundi still has poor coverage of mobile networks and the Internet. To this concern of the senators, minister Léocadie Ndacayisaba reassures by indicating that the government is doing everything to ensure that mobile phone and internet coverage is total in the country. A legal framework obliging operators to provide quality services is ongoing. The collaboration of the sector’s stakeholders to improve the quality of digital infrastructure is imperative, said Ms. Léocadie Ndacayisaba.
Some technical responses were of interest to the editorial staff of TIC-News. This is the minister’s reaction to the concern of senators. They believe there may be inconveniences to the use of a single communication network within the EAC. To this concern, Minister Léocadie Ndacayisaba replied that the use of a single communication network within the EAC does not present any disadvantages.
“In accordance with the International Telecommunications Regulations, the interconnection of communication networks is an obligation. This means that the interconnection already existed before the single communication network was set up. On a technical level, local telecom operators do not encounter any particular problems with this configuration. In addition, the adoption of a single communication network offers significant benefits, particularly for the populations of the countries of the sub-region. “She said.
Regarding the concern of the senators on the contribution of member countries, the minister said that the current EAC protocol on ICT is a framework for cooperation in the development of the ICT sector between the partner countries of the community. Each country undertakes useful and sovereign arrangements for ICT projects by aligning itself with the guidelines of the said protocol. The contributions of each partner country of the East African Community are agree upon by the EAC partner countries, including financial contributions, human resources and participation in regional initiatives.
Finally, as a reminder, Kenya and Uganda ratified this protocol in 2016; Rwanda in 2021 and Tanzania in 2023.
