Celtel International, the Dutch-based mobile telecommunications firm that operates in fifteen African countries, launched the first borderless mobile network in the world nine months ago in East Africa, offering its customers the opportunity to move freely across borders without roaming call surcharges an without having to pay to receive incoming calls.
Commenting on the expansion of One Network, Moez Daya, Chief Executive Officer of Celtel International said: "We are delighted to bring 160 million people from East and Central Africa closer together through One Network. In a region historically dependent on freedom of movement across borders, we are now offering a communications solution that makes life better for businesses, families and individuals from West to East. We have made the service easy to use and convenient by putting in place more than 140,000 places where our customers can buy airtime."
Commenting on the impact One Network will have on the economic development for Central and East Africa, Mr. Abdoulie Janneh, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa said: "We warmly welcome the extension of One Network, which will provide a significant boost to intra-African trade. By better linking markets across regions, by improving connectivity and lowering costs of cross border trade, we are giving domestic businesses new opportunities to grow and are encouraging larger multi-national producers to serve better-connected African markets from within the region."
The extension of One Network to Central Africa has been welcomed by the governments from the region, who stressed the contribution of telecommunication to strengthening the political, economic and cultural ties between East and Central Africa.

P+ webtip: Celtel