Rural telephony project to solve poor internet, call connectivity issues - Ursula

Minister for Communications and Digitalization, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has indicated that government's rural telephony project will address the poor connectivity issues faced by Ghanaians.

Speaking at a press conference in Accra, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful said over 1,000 rural telephony sites under the Ghana Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Project have been constructed to expand mobile network connectivity to unconnected rural communities.

She said people in rural communities can now make calls and use data services, thereby enhancing social and economic activities in these communities.

“They [telcos] are quite happily partnering with the government to deliver these services so I am hopeful that this rural telephony project will make a significant dent in the unconnected parts of this country,” the Communications and Digitalization Minister stated.

The minister, however, noted that 73 more sites have been made available and would be constructed once funding is made available.

Ursula Owusu-Ekuful further saidt 2,016 rural telephony sites were to be constructed under the project to extend mobile network coverage to approximately four million residents of selected unserved and underserved communities as part of efforts to bridge the digital divide.

In 2020, government secured a €155-million facility from the China EXIM Bank to start the Ghana Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Project in partnership with Chinese tech giant, Huawei and the China National Technical Import and Export Corporation.

Ursula Owusu-Ekuful also disclosed that Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire were the first ECOWAS countries to implement the ECOWAS free roaming initiative in June 2023.

SA/NOQ