Assemblyman for Canteen laments poor mobile network, ' says residents are living in dark ages'

The Assemblyman for the Canteen electoral area, Ananpansah Bartholomew Abraham, has decried the poor mobile network in the area, which he said was having a heavy toil on the socio-economic lives of the people.

In an interview with Damongo-based PAD FM, the young Assemblyman, who is very passionate about every aspect of development of the area, indicated that the community seems to live in the 'dark ages' in this 21st century since they were cut off from the digital conversation.

Residents of the area, he indicated, have to move outside to access mobile networks for various purposes impeding their access to timely and relevant information.

He said people cannot conduct online business with little or no access to research and development, a situation which was affecting effective teaching and learning in the area.

He said he in person has never been able to use his Wireless Hotspot Mifi Modem since he purchased it due to the frustrating network situation.

The situation he stressed, was very worrying because, workers such as nurses, teachers, doctors etcetera are hesitant in accepting posting to the area due to the terrible network challenge.

According to him, the situation was more dangerous in times of emergency, stressing that the redirection or resetting of distant network towers to serve the area was never a solution to the problem.

He added that the office of the Assemblyman has made several appeals to various network operators and stakeholders on the need for a telecommunication network mask to be mounted in the area to improve access to mobile networks but to no avail.

The Assemblyman, who is himself a media man and pays attention to details, argued that the Canteen Zone spans a wide area with huge numbers in terms of mobile network usage covering the St. Anne's to Zongo areas, Agric Settlement enclave, Agric Offices area, Sori areas, Poposo/Congo areas among others and deserve to have a separate network mask.

He used the platform to once again launch a very passionate appeal to the Mobile Network Operators, especially MTN Ghana, which was predominant in the area to as a matter of urgency connect the area with a Mobile Network Pole to salvage the situation.

He said the mounting of the telecommunication mobile tower was going to be a win-win for both residents and the network operators due to the estimated high utilization rate.

Several residents who spoke to this reporter resonated strongly with the sentiments of the Assemblyman, pleading with especially MTN and the other network operators to heed their cry this time around.