Disruption in internet services, MOMO services, others: MPs want communication minister summoned

Members of Parliament (MPs) of Ghana, from both the Minority and Majority Caucuses of the house, want the Minister for Communications and Digitalization, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, summoned over the disruption in telecommunication services seen in Ghana over the past few days.

The MPs want the minister to appear before the House to brief them on Monday, March 18, 2024, on the disruption in mobile network services across the country.

During proceedings in the House on Friday, March 15, 2024, members of both Minority and Majority Caucuses expressed concerns over the disruption in telecommunication services.

The MP for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, indicated that the situation is a threat to Ghana’s national security, and the minister must address the house on how it is being resolved, citinewsroom.com reports.

“The Ghana Telecommunication Chamber and the telecos have all issued statements pleading with their subscribers to bear with them. They say that there have been multiple submarine fibre optic cables disruptions in the high seas, and we do not know the extent of the distractions, and this is a national security issue.

“I want to appeal that the Communications Minister come to tell us what the government is doing to help restore normalcy so that we can have access to the internet and our data services,” he is quoted to have said.

His colleague MP for Dome-Kwabenya, Sarah Adwoa Safo, also said that a lot of Ghanaians are worried about the disruption in mobile money services.

She also said that the ministers must come before the House to address the issues that are coming up.

“Members of our constituencies are equally worried as we are, especially with the mobile money operators. So, I will plead with the Majority Leader to schedule the Minister for Communication to come and rightfully and thoroughly address the House on the issues that are at stake so that we can understand it better,” she said.

Background:

A number of telecommunication companies in Ghana, including MTN Ghana and Teletel (formerly Vodafone Ghana), were hit by outages on several underwater fibre optic cables on Thursday, March 14, 2024.

This has led to a disruption in service, particularly internet service, of the affected Mobile Network Operators and the Data Service Providers.

According to reports, at least 7 major African submarine optic fibre cables were hit; affecting telecommunication services in about 10 countries in West Africa, including Ivory Coast, Liberia, Benin, Ghana, and Burkina Faso.

Some telecommunication providers in South African countries, including South Africa, Namibia and Lesotho, have also been hit.

On the route from the East Coast of Africa to Europe, submarine cables including Seacom/TGN, AAE1, and EIG have all been cut in the Red Sea.

On the West Coast route to Europe, West Africa Cable System (WACS) and the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) are experiencing faults, while MainOne and SAT3 are offline, with the issue occurring near Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

The network challenges have affected banking services, MOMO transactions, and businesses that rely on internet to operate.

BAI/OGB

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