Internet provider upgrades network

Network Computer Systems (NCS), an Internet service provider in Ghana, says it has upgraded its Internet backbone capacity from 384 KBPS (kilobytes per second) to two MBPS (megabytes per second) transmission speeds.

This is an increment of more than five times the available speed for Internet Protocol (IP) data transmission and becomes the largest single IP pipe out of sub-Saharan Africa with the exception of South Africa.

A release issued in Accra on Friday quoted Dr. Nii Narku Quaynor, Executive Chairman of the NCS, as saying that effective internetworking service requires high bandwidth that is linked to the global Internet community.

The speed of the international link also determines largely the quality of service experienced by subscribers.

"It is, therefore, in fulfilment of NCS's quest to provide better services to its numerous loyal customers at affordable prices that our Internet gateway has been upgraded to 2 MBPS transmission speeds."

Dr. Quaynor said the expansion would bring about opportunities of new applications such as electronic-commerce, tele-medicine, tele-agriculture, tele commuting, distance education and broadcasting services at affordable prices.

Subscribers will also have a direct benefit in noticing faster response for requests from international servers while corporations, including Internet service providers and content providers, would obtain international Internet protocol bandwidth services which hitherto was either unavailable or available at very high costs.

"This is an opportunity for the country to truly leapfrog into the global economy and the facilities should be treasured and used wisely."