Accra, Ghana//- The era of people in rural communities climbing trees, walls, hills, mountains, and other high-rise objects before they could receive telecom signal(s) to make a mobile call is gradually becoming a thing of the past.
This is attributable to massive investments made by telecom service providers especially MTN Ghana, and the Ghanaian government in rural communities under the country’s rural telephony project.
The government through the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), an implementing agency of the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation responsible for programmes to close the Digital Divide, has deployed 473 out of the 1,008 Rural Mobile Sites under Ghana Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Project (GRT&DIP).
These sites according to the Administrator of GIFEC, Prince Ofosu Sefah are active and delivering voice and data services to citizens in rural Ghana. The sites also enable the people in the rural communities to engage in mobile money services-send and cash-out money for their daily use.
While efforts are being made to resolve all challenges being encountered to ensure that the remaining sites are all built and activated this year.
Also, telecom companies have partnered with the government to roll out several rural telephony sites to connect millions of people to voice and data services in the under-served communities.
For instance, in 2018, MTN Ghana in partnership with the government inaugurated a rural telephony project, at Abenaso, in the Eastern Region, which connected the community and its surrounding communities with telecommunication service and ICT services in the country.
This project was undertaken by MTN Ghana in partnership with the government. Majority of the people in the beneficiary communities are cocoa farmers.
The expansion of telephony connectivity services to rural communities in the country is opening rural communities to opportunities for the development of skills and knowledge, as well the growth of businesses and the local economy.
As the government and partners like MTN Ghana are providing the requisite communications infrastructure throughout the country, the government is also creating an enabling environment, through policies, to encourage other private sector investment in the communications sector.
MTN-GIFEC collaboration
In 2017, MTN Ghana in partnership with GIFEC and Ericsson extended mobile telephone service coverage to about 40 rural communities under a Rural Telephony Project.
The project was part of efforts being made to achieve universal mobile telephone service coverage throughout Ghana and increase telephone subscribership to as many citizens as possible.
Key strategic partnerships
In April 2022, MTN Ghana signed a national roaming agreement with Vodafone, commencing a pilot programme which allowed Vodafone subscribers in the Volta Region to roam on MTN’s network.
Following the success of the pilot, the parties signed a one-year agreement to extend national roaming on 2G beyond the Volta region to other areas.
MTN also reached an agreement with AirtelTigo for a four-month national roaming pilot to allow AirtelTigo subscribers to roam on MTN’s network in selected locations across the country.
“These agreements, together with various other rural telephony initiatives in partnership with the government, support our work to increase digital inclusion”, the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana, Selorm Adadevoh said in the company’s 2022 annual report.
These partnerships, according to him, would increase the efficiency of infrastructure spend in the industry overall, expand quality telecom coverage, accelerate the development and long-term viability of the telecoms industry, and support the national agenda of building a digital economy.
Additionally, MTN Ghana which provides a wide range of mobile and broadband services in the country is promoting digital inclusion, making it possible for millions of Ghanaians to benefit from the exchange of ideas and information.
Digital Inclusion
According to National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), an organization that provides a unified voice for home broadband access, public broadband access, personal devices and local technology training and support programmes, digital inclusion refers to the activities necessary to ensure that all individuals and communities, including the most disadvantaged, have access to and use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).
This includes five elements: affordable, robust broadband internet service; internet-enabled devices that meet the needs of the user; access to digital literacy training; quality technical support; and applications and online content designed to enable and encourage self-sufficiency, participation, and collaboration.
It added that digital inclusion must evolve as technology advances.
So, digital inclusion requires intentional strategies and investments to reduce and eliminate historical, institutional, and structural barriers to access and use technology.
The result of digital inclusion leads to digital equity which is a condition in which all individuals and communities have the information technology capacity needed for full participation in the society, democracy, and economy.
Digital Equity is necessary for civic and cultural participation, employment, lifelong learning, and access to essential services. Three-legged stool of digital inclusion are-internet access, computer devices, and digital literacy.
The President of Journalists For Business Advocacy (JBA), Suleiman Mustapha believes that electronic communication is one of the social services that has the potential of changing the living standards of rural communities and positioning Ghana as a digital hub in the sub-region”.
By Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh, African Eye Report
