One Dial to inject $275 million in telecom sector

One Dial Communications, one of the new companies that have applied to operate an alternative telecommunication network besides Ghana Telecom Company and Western Telesytems says it is ready to change the face of communications in Ghana.

Bing Aidoo, Chief Executive of the Company, told Journalists at a press conference in Accra that partners in the company have pooled 275 million dollars to develop a wireless telecommunications infrastructure base across the country, which would make telephone, voice, internet and other multimedia technologies available at a cheaper cost.

He mentioned collaborators in the One Dial deal as Star Communications, Lotus Capital Growth Fund, from the US, Global Wireless Satellite Networks Incorporated of Canada, China National Machinery and Equipment and Export Import Bank of China.

He welcomed government's commitment to the liberalisation of the telecom sector, saying that Ghana was well placed to become the hub of modern telecommunications technology in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Aidoo said the objective of One Dial is to bridge the telecommunication gap in the Sub-Region, which he noted was far behind the schedule set by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

He said the advantage One Dial had was that it had everything on stand by: "We are only waiting for the approval for licence by government and the National Communications Authority (NCA)." He said One Dial could also provide support for the NCA to overcome some of its present difficulties.

"One Dial seeks to develop and operate TD-SCDMA technology, which is one of the three third generation mobile communication system while also adopting CDMA and GSM mobile communication systems."

One Dial said it intended to lay a solid network for Ghana, Nigeria, Mali and Zimbabwe. Others are Tanzania and Lesotho. The international base of the infrastructure he noted, would make the cost of telecommunications even cheaper as consumers would be on the same network no matter the country in which they might be; "something that would make calling and use of internet facility far cheaper than we have now."

He said the fixing of pole-to-pole infrastructure was obsolete and should not be encouraged. Bing said so far; "we have received favourable response from government and hope that we would get to the ground soon enough to make things easier for all consumers. "If we stick to the old way of doing things, using cables, which has proven to be expensive over the years, we would be drawn back several years."