Internet Cafes in Eastern Region asked to regularise operations

Koforidua, July 15, GNA- The Ghana Telecom (GT) has asked Internet Cafe operators in the Eastern Region to regularise their operations with the company in order to derive the necessary facilities to enhance their business.

The Eastern Regional Director of the Company, Nii Amaah Fleischer-Brock, made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Koforidua on Monday.


This follows the closure of some Internet Cafes in the Koforidua Municipality a few months after operating over alleged arbitrary billing by the Ghana Telecom.


A survey by the GNA on the operations of the Internet Cafes in Koforidua showed that out of about 10 cafes, only three of them were still in business.


Mr Fleicher-Brock who denied the charge of arbitrary billing of the cafes, explained that since most of the operators set up their cafes without first consulting the company and, therefore, hook on to Accra-based Internet Service Providers (ISPs), they are billed according to their trunk line usage.


He, however, indicated that the company would soon install a facility in the region to provide Internet service to customers and educational institutions on a flat subscription billing system.


On the closure of the International Digital Dialling (IDD) facility by most communication centres due to similar allegations of arbitrary billings, especially through the repetitive billing of dialled foreign numbers, the Regional Director explained that the billing was based on satellite recordings, whether the recipient responded or not.

Mr Fleicher-Brock said a system for itemised billing of telephone users would soon be provided to give accurate billing of both local and international calls.


The Managing Director of the ERIMAK Computers Limited, Mr Ben Amankwah, complained that he was compelled to fold up his cafe after only three months of operation when he was billed with four-million-cedis by the Ghana Telecom.


According to him, since there was no local ISPs in the region, cafe operators had to depend on those in Accra-Tema until they are able to procure their own satellite dish, which he said currently costs 35,000 dollars.


The local chairman of the Communication Centres Association, Mr Eric Minnow, accused Ghana Telecom of arbitrarily billing them without an itemised billing record.


"They bill us unjustifiably and they claim they do not make mistake, and if you challenge them they disconnect your lines", he said. According to Mr Minnow, many Communication Centres in the Municipality have had to close their IDD services due to exorbitant billing, most of which was based on repetitive billing of a foreign number.


"We are made to pay for dialling a number abroad even when nobody received the call at the other end", he alleged. Mr Minnow said Ghana Telecom has imposed an upfront deposit system on the centres with the minimum being 300,000 cedis, saying this ensured that the company was "privileged to exploit us."