"Allo?" mu Rwanda

Muraho umuryango wanjye n'inshuti zanjye (Hello family and friends). It's been an eventful month since my last post. I went to Kibuye for a Peace Corps conference, giving me the chance to catch up with some friends and see a truly spectacular area of Rwanda on the shores of Lake Kivu. At night we could see the glowing-red top of an active volcano in the DRC. Then, after the conference, it was back to work as the second trimester began at school. The last three weeks have been spent largely at school, but I've found some time to get out in the community a bit and interact with my neighbors. But, enough about that, the topic of this month's blog is communication in Rwanda, especially the rapid growth in the use of cellular phones.

You are all well aware of the fact that Rwanda is a small country, having approximately the same area as the state of Maryland (or Sweetwater County in the great state of Wyoming), and it is this small size which has facilitated extensive cell phone coverage in the country.

There are currently two cell phone service providers in Rwanda: MTN and Tigo. There was a third, Rwandatel, but it was shut down about a month ago, as it was 80% owned by the Libyan government, whose assets were frozen (on top of that, there seem to have been some compliance issues with their towers). Of course, the rates for the two providers are not equal and neither is their coverage area.

First of all, it should be noted that both companies are of the “pay-as-you-go” variety, though I believe that large companies can by monthly plans. Once you have the SIM card (a small electronic card you put in your phone to gain access to a given network), you simply have to buy credit and put it on your phone. Buying credit is incredibly simple, especially in the larger towns and cities. All you have to do is look for one of the many young men (they're almost all men) wearing the yellow vest of MTN or the blue of Tigo and you can buy credit for either company on cards in increments of 500 FRW ($1=600 FRW). It is also possible to buy fewer than 500 FRW of credit by having the vendor directly transfer money into your phone as simply as you would receive a text message. After buying credit, if you buy a card you simply follow the instructions on the card to enter it into your SIM card and you're set! Credit is good for 90 days, after which time any remaining credit expires, and as long as you use your phone number at least once every 90 days it stays active and you don't have to change it.

Now, 500 FRW of credit gets you a different amount of call time on both networks. On MTN, you pay 1.5 FRW per second if you call another MTN number (and only 1.1 FRW per second on the weekend), but that rate jumps to 2.1 FRW per second for other numbers in Rwanda. On Tigo, though, calls cost 10 FRW per minute to other Tigo users and 1.5 FRW per second to other numbers in Rwanda. As for calling the U.S., MTN is about 50 FRW per minute (.83 FRW per second), while Tigo is around 30 FRW per minute. Notice anything interesting about those costs? Of course, cost isn't the only factor when deciding which provider to choose; it does no good to have one that does not work in your area.

It is for this reason that MTN is the most widely used service provider in Rwanda: it has a very extensive network, covering just about the entire country (really essentially all from what I can tell, though there are areas of spotty coverage), while Tigo has several gaps in its coverage (my house, for example). It seems that the MTN slogan, “Everywhere you go”, holds true for Rwanda, while Tigo's “Express Yourself” only applies if where you want to express yourself falls within the range of their towers. (Interestingly, Rwandatel was the only cell service provider with a slogan in Kinyarwanda: “Turi kumwe”, or “We're together”.)

No matter where you go in Rwanda, however, you're sure to be reminded of the communication possibilities of the cell phone. It's impossible to listen to the radio without hearing several advertisements for each company (really, cell phone service and beer make up the majority of radio, and probably print, advertisements). Also, if you go into just about any business in Rwanda you'll see people using cell phones left and right (and getting through a meeting without one going off is rarer than a blue moon). They are truly ubiquitous now, with something over 90% of the population owning one.

This prevalence, however, raises another question since Rwanda is still largely a rural country, and many towns and villages do not yet have electricity (including mine). How do all these people charge their phones Well, if you live somewhere without electricity, then you have several options. First of all, there's usually an entrepreneurial soul in the village who bought a gas-powered generator which he uses to power clippers to cut hair; power a television and DVD player to show movies; and, yes, to charge phones, usually at the very decent price of 100 FRW. Alternatively, some schools and government buildings have solar panels, so, if you have access to them, they can be used to charge your phone. Finally, a car battery and inverter can be used. The inverter connects to the car battery and converts the direct current of the battery to 240-Volt alternating current to charge electronic devices. I used to have a battery and inverter but decided it was more hassle than it was worth and now use the solar power at the school or the generator at the local barber/movie theater. That way, I get a chance to interact with some of the locals more.

So, there you go, all you ever wanted to know about cell phones in Rwanda (well, maybe). So, come on over, choose MTN or Tigo, buy some credit from one of the many colorful street vendors, and choose your preferred method of charging your phone and you can talk all you want. Until next month (June!), take care. Murabeho.