Afriwave set for ICH network launch in Ghana

Afriwave Telecoms Ghana said it has completed the first phase of the interconnect clearinghouse (ICH) network deployment in Accra and it is ready to launch.

The Phase One included the installation and deployment of the core network and transmission infrastructure in the city of Accra.

A statement from Afriwave said with the completion of Phase 1, Afriwave is ready to offer services including monitoring of volumes of all traffic for telecom service providers, provision of anti-fraud management and revenue assurance systems, and accounting for revenues to Government under Act 864 and Act 786 and to provide technical support to enforce all telecommunications revenue tax compliance from October 2015.

"Other services that make up full scope of the Interconnect Clearinghouse services will be implemented within the coming months," the statement said.

According to Afriwave, the provision of this service will boost the revenue accruing to the Government since its anti-fraud management system is based on active policing of SimBoxing and revenue diversion, unlike the previous services offered to the industry, which was based on passive policing, and has not been effective in curbing SimBoxing.

"The poor quality of service and revenue loss to Government that results from SimBoxing will therefore be a thing of the past within the coming months," it said.

It said very robust payment and settlement scheme is also being implemented that will ensure a more accurate and timely remittance of revenue accruing to the Government.

The company is confident that its service delivery will lead to a more robust telecom network in Ghana, saving operators billions of cedis in network infrastructure upgrades, lead to introduction of new classes of services, enable newly licensed MVNOs to roll out their services more cost effectively and efficiently, increase revenue to the Government, and lead to cheaper and higher quality of services to subscribers.

"Telecom services in Ghana will soon experience a boost in the quality and class of service delivery in the country with ICH platform in place," Afriwave said.

Afriwave was awarded a 10 year license to offer interconnect clearinghouse services in Ghana by the NCA. The license has been fully paid for and Afriwave is currently involved in a full service deployment programme.

But the legality, constitutionality and necessity of the ICH is being challenged in court, the telecom operators have also made their reservations about the ICH public.

The judge sitting on the case, Justice Essel Mensah was named among the alleged corrupt judges in the famous Anas video so the case has been halted.

Afriwave, however got a provisional license to continue with its installation ahead of the decision of the court, a move which counsel for the plaintiffs have described as contemptuous of the court.

But to the extent that the court earlier deferred ruling on an interlocutory injunction case brought against parties in the ICH, nothing prevented Afriwave from installing and deploying the network, even if it cannot implement the ICH policy immediately.

Meanwhile, telcos and other communications service providers are yet to connect to the Afriwave platform.