South Africa recently announced the allocation of extra spectrum on a temporary basis to operators facing high demand during the lockdown. Now it's Ghana’s turn.
The Ghanaian telecommunications regulator the National Communications Authority (NCA) has temporarily granted Vodafone and MTN Ghana – the country’s two biggest operators – additional spectrum. The grant will cover a three-month period and, news reports indicate, will come at no extra cost to the operators.
Like a number of other countries, Ghana has decided to take this emergency measure to help operators cope with a significant increase in internet traffic expected during the country’s COVID-19 lockdown.
Local news reports indicate that the additional spectrum has been granted only to the country’s two largest operators, as these are the ones facing the heaviest surge in demand.
The communications minister has appealed to end users to moderate their data usage in order to alleviate the pressure on telecommunications providers, although, judging from usage spikes in other countries where people are confined to their homes, granting the extra spectrum is probably a wise move.
Among other coronavirus-related initiatives, the ministry has also made available a smart workplace platform for government workers to ensure that more than 300,000 workers can provide services during the partial lockdown. A GH COVID-19 tracker application has also been launched.