MTN Fibre Broadband Services Will Transform Ghana’s Economy

The Deputy Minister of Communication, George Andah has said the introduction of MTN’s fibre broadband services to households in Ghana will in a much better way change people’s way of doing business in the country.

“We are optimistic that MTN Fibre Broadband initiative will eventually help take Ghana closer to its journey of transforming the economy and society into a fully-fledged information and knowledge-based society and economy in the foreseeable future,” he stated.

The Deputy Minister indicated that globally, the role of broadband is increasingly becoming the emphasis for unlocking and accelerating knowledge and technology based economies, as well as enabling GDP growth.

“Going by research conducted on the economic impacts of broadband in other countries, it is today widely accepted that broadband penetration unlocks an additional GDP growth for every 10% broadband penetration achieved, which is a significant contribution by any measure,” he intimated.

Mr. George Andah noted that the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has thrown a ‘Broadband Challenge’, to all Governments, industry and civil society to work together to ensure that at least 40% of households use broadband Internet.

According to him, several governments over the past few years have embarked on a path where national targets are being set for connecting the vast majority of households with optic fibre broadband networks e.g. Australia, the UK, India, South Korea, Singapore, New Zealand, Brazil and China.

He indicated that the Government of Ghana recognizing the enormous benefit of ICT to the Ghanaian Citizenry has over the years put measures in place to ensure that we develop our ICT infrastructure to meet emerging technological trends.

The Deputy Minister added that the journey started with the adoption of the national ICT for Accelerated Development Policy (ICT4AD) in 2003 and in 2013, the Ministry of Communications facilitated the review of the scope of the Ghana ICT4AD Policy Statement to include some new thematic policy areas, notable amongst them being Broadband.

“The government cannot do it all. That is why as a Ministry, we are always excited to see private sector stakeholders like MTN take such giant steps in pursuit of initiatives which will ultimately serve as a foundation for the achievement of not only individual but our national goals i.e. broadband access for all,” he emphasized.

The Chief Executive of MTN, Ebenezer Twum Asante stressed that MTN Fibre Broadband brings diverse solutions to their clientele including high-speed internet access, live streaming of online TV channels or Video on Demand, home and office automation including security services and so much more.

He added that opportunity also exists to drive innovations like remote office (work from home), telemedicine, e-learning and IoT solutions all via MTN Fibre broadband.

Mr. Asante indicated that they are constantly seeking avenues to realize their vision of leading the delivery of a bold new digital world and their mission to make our customers lives a whole lot brighter and the introduction of Fibre Broadband is no exception.

He said MTN is very confident of the enormous benefits that Fibre Broadband presents both to the individual and nation and therefore cannot afford to have anyone left behind in the connected world.

“The digital revolution, as some people refer to it, has significantly changed the way we experience our environment and MTN is committed to ensuring that every Ghanaian has an opportunity to be digitally connected through MTN Fibre Broadband,” the CEO posited.

According to him, MTN since 2015 has set the pace by investing heavily in the deployment of Fibre Broadband and related services in line with their belief that “everyone deserves the benefits of a modern connected world.”

Mr. Ebenezer Twum Asante noted that MTN has provided broadband solutions to homes in some parts of Greater Accra Region (Airport, Community 25, Cantonments, Amamasman, Spintex, Afienya & Adjiringano), Central Region (Kasoa and Budumburam), Eastern Region (parts of Koforidua) with ongoing deployments in Ashanti (Kumasi) and Western (Takoradi). Eventually they plan to cover all the key cities in the country.