South Africans using MTN and roaming on the telecommunications group’s networks in Southern and East Africa will no longer have to pay for incoming calls. The cost of outgoing calls has also been reduced.
The lower roaming charges, which apply to contract and prepaid customers, have been introduced in Botswana, Rwanda, Uganda, Swaziland and Zambia.
High roaming charges have long been a bone of contention for international travellers, with consumers’ data and voice bills sometimes running into tens of thousands of rand.
According to MTN SA chief marketing officer Serame Taukobong, roaming prepaid customers can top up their prepaid phones with locally purchased airtime cards. For these customers, the roaming service is automatically activated when they cross into the coverage area of one of the participating countries. Contract subscribers must still apply for international roaming.
Calls to countries in the region are charged at R5/minute and SMSes at R1,50. The tariff for calls within the country being visited is R3/minute.
Data roaming in the region is available to contract customers only and is charged at 25c per 25KB (about R10/MB). — Staff reporter, TechCentral
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