Safaricom has announced significant reductions in roaming rates in 21 countries located North and central Africa, Europe and New Zealand for its subscribers. This comes after successful negotiations with its global network of partners and regional governments.

Following the signing of a new agreement with Vodafone affiliates, for just Sh200, subscribers can access up to 10 minutes of voice services, 10 SMS, and 10MBs of data in 21 countries, providing subscribers with a simple solution for their roaming needs. In addition, subscribers travelling to Rwanda and the United Arab Emirates shall enjoy reduced rates for calls made to Kenya.

Safaricom has secured the roaming agreements through its affiliates in Albania, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Malta, New Zealand, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Netherlands, Turkey, United Kingdom, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Lesotho, and Mozambique among other countries.

In practice, the development means that a subscriber who travels to Egypt will now pay just Sh200 for ten minutes of conversation, down from the previous charges of over Sh900. For subscribers who are travelling to the United Arab Emirates and roaming on Etisalat, calling rates have come down by 85%, while data customers will now pay Sh100 per MB, down from the Sh1,020 that was charged previously.

The news follows Safaricom's recent announcement of reduction of roaming charges in Rwanda, where costs came down by up to 60%. The company is also pursuing targeted agreements with other countries in the East African bloc such as Uganda and Tanzania.

In order to enhance awareness of the new rates, Safaricom created a free tool that advises subscribers on roaming rates.

To access information on roaming, customers can simply dial *200# (for PostPay) or *100# (for PrePay), select "Products & Services" from the menu, "Safaricom Roaming", select "Roaming Tariffs and Tips" and then enter the Country Name to get details on Roaming Tariffs, available Roaming Services, Preferential Networks and Roaming Tips