Airtel Uganda announces new calling rates

Airtel Uganda has announced its new harmonized calling rates to all African destinations, cutting costs for Ugandans who communicate with family, friends and business associates across the continent.

Effective 24 May 2012, Airtel customers can now call any destination in Africa for 10/- per second. Calls within East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, DRC) as well as calls to Nigeria and South Africa will cost even less, at 6/- per second. Previously, customers were paying between 450/- to 1500/- per minute to call many of the African destinations.

Commenting on the new rates, Somasekhar VG., managing director of Airtel Uganda, said "We believe the time for Africa is now and, as such, Airtel is committed to connecting the continent and breaking any cross-border communication barriers through providing affordable communication. Africa has experienced rapid economic growth over the last decade and this offer will allow Ugandans to capitalize on this growth. The lower rates will not only allow Ugandans to talk more, the increased communication will also play a role in promoting trade and commerce across Africa."

Closing the communication divide

The importance of connecting the Ugandan population to the rest of the continent is recognised by both corporate as well as the government.

Speaking at the launch event, Ruhakana Rugunda, minister of ICT in Uganda, explained that the reality of closing the communication divide in Africa is only going to be made possible when we respond to the growing need for people to communicate by providing innovative and advanced ICT solutions that make mobile telephony and other communication available and affordable to all.

He added that the launch of Airtel's One Africa One Rate, which envisages a uniform charge for all calls made to African countries from an Airtel number, will go a long way in bringing African together.

Call and Win

As an added bonus, customers who call the African destinations frequently will stand a chance to win a dream holiday for two every week for the next three months. The holiday is the result of a partnership between Airtel Uganda, Fly 540 and Serena Hotels.

Airtel has been at the forefront of driving innovation across Africa not only within the local scene but at international level through the One Network profile that allows customers to communicate at local rates when they travel to at least 17 countries in Africa.