Accra, August 22, 2017//Organisers of demonstrations and other outdoor social events have been urged to inform telecom operators in Ghana before embarking on their activities.
The move is to enable telecom service providers such as MTN, Tigo, Airtel, Vodafone and others to provide special telecom support services for the demonstrators on the streets. Similar support services would be extended to participants of social activities.
The acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Chamber of Telecoms, Derek Laryea, made the call at an event dubbed ‘Maiden Dialogue Series” organised by the Network of Communication Reporters (NCR) and sponsored by MTN Ghana in Accra today.
He added: “After securing your police permit to embark on the demonstrations, you should try to inform the telecom operators to enable them provide telecom support services for routes”.
Addressing recent telecom service quality concerns in the country, Mr Laryea blamed it on external factors which are beyond the control of the telecom service providers in the country.
These factors he mentioned include macroeconomic indicators, high taxes, fibre cuts, energy, cell site battery thefts and cheap or fake mobile phones.
However Mr Laryea was confident that with stakeholders’ collaborations the above-mentioned challenges would be addressed soon.
The Customer Planning and Enablement Senior Manager at MTN Ghana, Lawrence Akosen said telecom service providers in the country would to provide quality telecom services for customers.
On his part, the Director of Regulatory Administration at the National Communications Authority (NCA), Kofi Datsa noted that, “customers have become more demanding, no longer do they choose speed, quality or price-they now expect all three”.
“The NCA has an obligation to ensure that service providers provide service quality to customers. The authority ensures that service providers establish consumer codes, service level agreement (SLA) which consumers can hold them to it”, he stressed.
Touching on theme-‘Moving from Service Quality to Service Excellence’, the Minister of Communications, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful described it as timely and on point because this has been a haunting complaint and there is the need for the players in the industry to up their game.
She said: “The issues are indeed very serious and they are not only for discussions but require the constant monitoring and enforcement of regulations”.
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful emphasised that she responded to a Parliamentary question on the poor state of communications services in the Adaklu constituency, a four month deadline was given to the regulator (NCA) and the telecom service providers to take necessary measures to improve services in the area.
The Dean of the Network of Communication Reporters (NCR), Charles Benoni Okine, noted that with the growth of telecom sector, consumers of telecom services supposed to enjoy ubiquitous services but this not happening in the country.
“This is the time for consumers to enjoy excellent telecom services. we therefore appeal to mobile network operators to improve their services”, he stressed.
The Editor of Daily Graphic, Ransford Tetteh who chaired the day’s workshop, urged telecom service providers to provide consumers in Ghana the same services comparable to those in their countries of origins.
African Eye Report
