Ghana is hosting a four-day high-level meeting of telecommunications regulators and mobile network operators from Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, with the goal of finalising agreements that would make cross-border calls significantly cheaper for millions of West Africans.
The National Communications Authority (NCA) is hosting the Tripartite Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Roaming Meeting at the NCA Tower in Accra from April 27 to April 30, 2026. The meeting is focused on advancing the implementation of the ECOWAS Free Roaming Initiative and facilitating the finalisation and signing of bilateral Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs).
In his welcome remarks, NCA Deputy Director General for Technical Operations, Suleman Salifu, described the engagement as a critical step in building on progress made through previous bilateral discussions. He stressed that the initiative’s success would require strong collaboration among regulators and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), guided by principles of transparency, sustainability, and mutual benefit. He also noted the meeting’s timeliness, following a recent review of the ECOWAS Roaming Regulations that had offered new insights for refining the implementation framework.
Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA) Chairman Clarence K. Massaquoi reaffirmed his country’s commitment to the initiative, noting it would enable citizens to communicate, travel, and conduct business across borders more easily by reducing or eliminating high roaming charges.
Sierra Leone’s representative, Musa Jalloh, Deputy Director for Regulatory Administration at the National Communications Authority of Sierra Leone, described the meeting as a strategic milestone toward a digitally connected ECOWAS region. He stressed that affordable cross-border communication is essential for trade, education, mobility, and inclusive growth. Drawing on the example of the East African One Network Area initiative introduced in 2014, Jalloh urged stakeholders to demonstrate faster decision-making and stronger coordination between regulators and operators to avoid further delays in rollout. He also called for the harmonisation of short codes across the ECOWAS bloc to improve user experience.
Ghana has been at the forefront of ECOWAS roaming expansion. Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire were the first ECOWAS member states to implement the Free Roaming Initiative in June 2023. Ghana subsequently expanded the framework through MoUs with Togo and Benin, with the trilateral launch taking place in October 2024.
The Accra talks are expected to conclude with the signing of MoUs on the final day, April 30, marking a significant step toward deeper digital integration among the three nations.
