Ghana’s Telecom Policies Slammed

The Ghanaian policies have been slammed by Professor Nii Narku Quaynor, the convener of the African Network Operation Group for discouraging local participation in the telecommunication sector .In an interview conducted by IDG News Services, Prof. Quaynor criticized the government’ transfer of the national fiber optic facility to the state-owned Ghana Telecommunication Company, in which Vodafone recently took a 70 percent strake, saying the move would promote monopoly.\
“The ratio of foreign ownership of telecommunication facilities to local ownership is 99 to one, while the current economic stability and regulatory policies in the country favor foreign investments. The transfer will not promote sharing of resources or a competitive market among telecommunication and Internet service providers,” said Professor Quaynor.
Professor Quaynor added that the addition of capital into the sector could however enhance competition, lead to the delivery of quality service and improve consumer choice for products and services.
Although the telecommunication industry is booming, online access is still low, with the Internet accounting for only 5 percent of the growth in the sector. The National Communication Authority’s Statistics indicate that telephone access at the end of the first quarter of 2008 was almost 40 percent, with the greater concentration in urban Ghana
Dr. Osei Darkwa, president of Ghana Telecom University College, believes that Ghana has taken a giant step in investments into the telecommunication sector, which will generate employment, raise the standard of living of Ghanaians and ensure skill transfer that will make employees marktable internationally.
Speaking in an interview in Accra, Dr. Darkwa stated that Africa is the fastest growing market for mobile telecommunication, with a pace of 65 percent, compared to 33 percent in Europe. He added that the increased investor interest in Ghana is attributable to improve structures that will promote free trade. He goes on to say that the nation has become a hub for business process outsourcers in West Africa because of the improved telecom facilities.
The Entry of Zain, Vodafone and Globacom into the Ghanaian telecommunication market will help lower costs. Dr. Darkwa argued that Westel, which has been acquired by Celtel International and is to operate under the Zain brand, controls only 10 per cent of the fixed line market.
MTN is presently the leader of the mobile telecom sector, followed by TiGo, Onetouch and Kasapa. Zain and Globacom (Glo) — which have received the fifth and sixth licenses, respectively, to operate in Ghana — have yet to make their mark.
Glo aims to have one million subscribers by the end of the year. However, Vodafone, with over 290 million subscribers from operations in 26 countries and 14 partner groups, has existing fixed and mobile infrastructure at its disposal.