Accidental roaming at borders: facilitating the use of frequencies at the borders of Togo and Ghana

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Extract from the article: Launched on Wednesday May 24, 2023 in the conference room of the Autorité de Régulation des Communication Électroniques et des Postes (ARCEP) in Lomé, the coordination and sharing meeting on radio frequencies at the borders between Ghana and Togo cam

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Launched on Wednesday May 24, 2023 in the conference room of the Autorité de Régulation des Communication Électroniques et des Postes (ARCEP) in Lomé, the coordination and sharing meeting on radio frequencies at the borders between Ghana and Togo came to a close on Friday May 26, 2023. For 03 days, operator delegates discussed ways of facilitating the use of frequencies at the borders of the two countries, in particular by limiting the penetration of signals from neighboring networks into the coordination zone. The proceedings were closed by Mr. Michel Yaovi Galley, Director General of ARCEP.

Over three days, panelists and participants re-examined the content of the June 01, 2019 Agreement signed between Togo and Ghana. This in the context of Article 6 of the Radio Regulations and Recommendation ITU-R SM 1049-1 dealing respectively with coordination and the spectrum management method to be used to facilitate the process of frequency assignment to the terrestrial service in border areas.

This work led to the modification of the June 01, 2019 agreement to take into account a new distribution of codes at borders for 3G and 4G technologies. In addition, during the work, strong recommendations formulated in terms of joint network controls by regulators and self-control by the operators themselves should ensure better mobile telephony services for the benefit of consumers in border areas. Finally, the measurement methodology has also undergone major changes, to bring it closer to the conditions under which people in border areas use mobile telephony services, and to give a more accurate account of the state of networks in these areas.

One of the major changes resulting from the work is the feasibility study on the implementation of various techniques to combat accidental roaming, including the implementation of the « Border Roaming Getway » solution, implemented by operators in both countries.

Praising the quality of the work, ARCEP's Director General called on the players involved to respect the commitments made during the meeting: « I trust that this active participation by the operators foreshadows that measures will be taken to respect the parameters we have set ourselves to limit signals below threshold values at penetration distance, and to respect preferential channels in the coordination zone. We have set ourselves these conditions because we believe they are technically feasible. We hope to see concrete results in the coming months and at the next coordination meeting », he urged.

Broadcasting services, especially sound, are not left out. Optimization of the GE84 plan organized by the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) should enable new FM broadcasting frequencies to be registered in the International Frequency Register and facilitate frequency assignments in both countries.

ARCEP is committed to ensuring that Togo's operators comply with the parameters set out in the coordination agreement. « Indeed, the mission entrusted to us leaves us no choice: we must ensure that we offer users the best services, and to do this we must work to limit interference between users of radio frequencies at borders, and above all provide users with available mobile networks », emphasized Michel Yaovi Galley, ARCEP DG.

ARCEP is also delighted that the National Communications Authority (NCA) is in favor of a bilateral agreement between Togo and Ghana for the implementation of free roaming, pending the effective implementation of the ECOWAS regulation on community roaming. In other words, free roaming aims to eliminate the extra cost of calls abroad. More concretely, it will enable our fellow citizens on the move to make and receive calls as if they were in their own country.

William O.