Along with flat roaming tariffs for both data and SMS, users will also pay local rather than roaming rates whenever in countries where Airtel has a presence.
“By introducing a flat and attractive roaming rate for data and SMS use, Airtel will help lower the communication cost for millions of frequent business and leisure travellers across the countries that we operate in,” said Andre Beyers, chief marketing officer for Airtel’s operations in Africa.
“Airtel customers will also receive calls for free and have the opportunity to recharge their phone credit by using the host country’s top up vouchers. There is a nominal mark up on the local rate to cover for exchange rate differences and currency fluctuations.”
The service will benefit customers who want to be reached on their home numbers while travelling abroad, as well as high-end smartphone customers who will get to use the ever increasing number of data applications at an attractive and flat rate.
The single network is found in Africa in Burkina Faso, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. In South Asia, Airtel is in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.