Over 2,000 fibre cuts recorded in first half of 2019

Data gathered by the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications shows a record of 2,000 fibre cuts across the country resulting in disruptions in communication services.

Out of the figure, Ashanti Region alone recorded over 370 fibre cuts, which was about 25 per cent estimated at about GHC6 million loss to the country.

Added to these, the industry also recorded the theft of over 150,000 litres of diesel, and 240 batteries in the same period from the cell sites nationwide, which affected a whopping 18 million subscribers and businesses within the value chain.

Mr Kenneth Ashigbey, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Chamber, who said this attributed the situation to the operations of road contractors, private developers and unknown criminals, adding that the situation was not a pleasant one and called for a collaborative effort by all stakeholders to minimize the trend.

He was speaking at a sensitization workshop by the mobile industry in Kumasi, which was aimed at finding ways to addressing the challenges of fibre cuts and damages to communication infrastructure.

“We cannot continue to accept this problem as the norm, therefore, we are here today to work with the stakeholders to agree on a better way of doing things to reduce drastically the impact of these cuts, thefts and damage to our infrastructure.”

The workshop was the fourth in the series of regional engagements. The event had taken turns in the Central, Western and Eastern Regions, during which the prevalence of fibre cuts, cable/fuel/battery thefts and vandalism to communication infrastructure, was highlighted.

It brought together 50 stakeholders from the road agencies, road contractors, utility service providers, local government authority, regulators and others who worked within the reservations or played critical roles in its management.

Stakeholders, therefore, reached a consensus that the strengthening of the Regional Engineering Coordinating Team (RECT) and the District Engineering Coordinating Team (DECT), were essential to managing the right of way (ROW) activities within the Metropolis, Municipalities and Districts.