The Minister for Communication and Member of Parliament for Ablekuma West, Mrs. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has stated that as part of the strategies to ensure universal access, Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC) is implementing the Rural Telephony Project.
Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful indicated that the Rural Telephony Project is intended to extend the coverage of mobile services into areas where access to such services is not adequately available due to unwillingness or inability of Mobile Network Operators (MNO’s), to expand their networks as a result of commercial or other considerations.
In answering a question on the floor of Parliament by Member of Parliament for Amenfi Central, Mr. Peter Yaw Kwakye Ackah, on the steps taken by the Ministry to improve the mobile telephony in the remote areas, Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful explained that the project aims at closing the void created by the Mobile Network Operators in their roll out.
Appearing at the Plenary, the Communications Minister reiterated that the project involves the erection of telecom towers in unserved and undeserved communities, to provide or improve telecommunication service.
“These towers are also available for co-location by all network operators to encourage the extension of their services to the areas by the operators”, she stated.
She concluded that the ultimate objective of the programme is to achieve a 100 percent mobile telephone service coverage, as well as increase telephone subscribership to as many citizens as possible.
The Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications is an agency under the Ministry of Communications that has the responsibility of facilitating the provision of universal access to electronic communications to unserved and undeserved communities in the country.
Source: GhanaJustice/S.Ayisi
