Telecoms Chamber appeals to communities to facilitate erection of towers

Kwaku Sakyi-Addo

The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications on Wednessday appealed to local authorities and communities to facilitate the erection of towers to enhance the delivery of telecommunications services.

A statement signed by the Chief Executive of the Telecoms Chamber, Mr Kwaku Sakyi-Addo and copied to the GNA, said in 2012, telecom infrastructure companies were unable to build as many new tower sites because they were not granted the relevant permits.

Mr Sakyi-Addo said "the quality of telecommunications services would suffer unless infrastructure grew to correspond with subscriber growth."

The statement said mobile network operators and other telecom infrastructure companies were ready to invest to enhance service delivery; but they required the support and co-operation of communities and local authorities to enable them build the needed infrastructure.

It said the mobile network operators and telecom infrastructure companies continue to face serious challenges in the deployment of new telecommunication tower sites to fill the existing gaps in their coverage areas. Improved technology and the increased use of data services by consumers also require that additional infrastructure is deployed.

The statement said mobile network operators and telecommunication infrastructure companies do, however, actively engage in the sharing of tower sites, which has reduced the number of sites that would otherwise have been required.