MTN Ghana launches vehicle tracking, audio conferencing services

Accra, Feb. 29, GNA – MTN Ghana, the biggest mobile network in the country, on Wednesday launched two new services - Vehicle Tracking to help individuals and organisations interested in the whereabouts of their vehicles and Audio Conferencing for meetings and conferences.

Mr Michael Ikpoki, Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana, announced this at a forum with Editors in Accra on Wednesday.

He said the new auto tracking service comes against the background of the growing need for vehicular security and it “ensures that your car is never out of sight no matter the time of the day” adding that the tracker costs GH?315.00 while tracking is charged at GH¢10.00 per month.

He said upon purchase, tracking devices would be installed immediately at an accredited garage and customers would be given a unique username and password to be able to log onto the vehicle tracking web portal (www.trackmaster,com.gh) and securely track their vehicles.

Mr Ikpoki said with the web portal, customers would tell the speed of the vehicle and pinpoint its exact location and customers will also get instant email/sms on speeding (80 kms/h) and also know when vehicles enter or leave a specific area.

He said the tracker service is available at the MTN offices at Accra Mall, Osu, Graphic Road, Madina and Tema Community 6.

He said the audio conferencing service can be used by the average Ghanaian for meetings and conferences without physical presence.

Giving details of MTN’s contributions to the socio-economic development of Ghana, Mr Ikpoki said out of the 10 per cent in government revenue contributed to the economy by telecommunication companies in 2010, MTN contributed 6.9 per cent. The company also contributed 1.4 per cent of GDP.

He said the main focus for 2012 was to improve the company’s services and begin to increase data awareness and usage in Ghana saying “we invested in the network, we laid fiber optic cables throughout the country and we now have additional capacity to boost data services through the construction of three world class data centres.”

Mr Ikpoki said the company had already invested over 1.1 billion dollars in the network since it took over, adding “We will continue to make strategic network investments to enhance services to our customers”.

He said in connection with the data revolution, the MTN Business Solutions Department was set up last year purposely to help small and medium size companies fully utilize their data offerings to improve their business.

Mr Ikpoki reiterated the commitment of MTN to invest in communities in which they operated and said they had added an additional focus area – economic empowerment – to the existing education and health focus areas.

He said the new focus area was aimed at helping to create a critical mass of small and rural enterprises to drive economic growth of communities and would also support businesses in the informal sector and encourage sustainable enterprises.

Mr Ikpoti enumerated challenges as persistent fibre cuts which affected network quality, increasing operating expenditure as a result of arbitrary fees charged by municipal and district assemblies and frequent power outages which affected equipment.

He noted that the data sector in Ghana was low and said MTN planned to provide customers with relevant data offers that would encourage users to take advantage of the benefits of data and the Internet to propel Ghana into the digital age.