The Internet disruptions that occurred from March 14 drew attention to the flaws in the network. African countries are studying lasting solutions to overcome these deficiencies.
The National Communications Authority of Ghana (NCA) has announced measures to avoid future internet disruptions and ensure good quality of service to consumers. These strategic measures were unveiled by Joe Anokye (photo), director general of the regulator, during a press conference on Sunday March 24.
Measures proposed by the NCA include requiring telecoms operators to connect to new international submarine cables; the allocation of operating licenses to new satellite telecoms service operators; collaboration with neighboring countries for the extension of terrestrial optical fiber in the sub-region.
The announcement of these measures comes a few days after some African countries, including Ghana, suffered disruptions to the Internet network due to the cutting of certain submarine cables serving them. While services have been gradually restored, full repair of damaged cables is expected to take five weeks according to the NCA.
According to existing regulations, the NCA is required to ensure reliable and quality telecom services to Ghanaian consumers. They need its services in particular to meet growing digital needs. Some also need it to conduct income-generating activities like e-commerce.
As a reminder, Ghana had 22.62 million subscribers to mobile Internet services for a penetration rate of 70.85%, according to NCA statistics. Mobile data traffic was 438.5 billion megabits, up 44.17% from 304.15 million megabits recorded in the first quarter of 2022.