One thousand communities to benefit from 200 telephony sites across the country - Akufo Addo

President Nana Akufo-Addo has given the assurance to build a total of 200 telephony sites to serve 1000 communities across the country.

According to him his government has begun rolling out the rural telephony project, which will provide data and voice connectivity to 1,020, hitherto, unserved communities across the country.

Launching the rural telephony project at Abenaso in the eastern region ,the president said the objective is to connect the town and surrounding communities with ICT facilities and telecommunication services.

It is a partnership between MTN Ghana, Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC) and Huawei Technologies Limited.

He said despite the significant spread of telecommunications services across the country, the distribution of necessary telephony infrastructure is still very much concentrated in the major economic centers of the country.

“While Government is providing the requisite communications infrastructure throughout the country, we are also creating an enabling environment, through the policies implemented over the last 19 months, to encourage private sector investment in the communications sector,” he said.

The inauguration of the Abenaso Project, the President said, will mean that Abenaso, together with 499 other rural communities across the country will enjoy the 3G coverage.

President Akufo-Addo noted that expanding telephony connectivity services to rural communities in the country “will help open up Abenaso and other rural communities to opportunities for the development of skills and knowledge, as well the growth.

Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana, Selorm Adadevor said the company was committed to ensuring that every Ghanaian enjoyed the full benefits of the internet and emergence of digital technology.

He added 100 villages are already benefiting from project and over 300 rural Communities will benefit from the Rural Telephony project by the end of 2020.