Leading
mobile telecom operator, MTN Ghana has suffered a 250 percent increase in fibre
cuts within the past six months – from November 2012 to May 2013.
Last
month alone, the company recorded 78 cuts mainly due to damages caused by
construction activities.
MTN
officials have also decried the spate at battery and diesel theft at the
company’s base stations. The Ashanti region alone has recorded 225 battery
thefts.
Other
telecom operators are suffering similar challenges.
These
challenges affect the quality of the service delivery; creating network congestion
and increase in call drops, says Cynthia Lumor, Corporate Services Executive at
MTN.
She
is hoping an intervention by national security would curtail the trend of rampant
fibre cuts.
National
security has issued a directive to contractors and road builders to liaise with
telecom companies to determine whether or not such fibres need to be moved
before excavation for construction projects.
“We
are hoping that this as well as all the engagement that we’ve been doing will decrease
the incidence of cuts if not eliminate it totally”, says Mrs. Lumor.
About
15 percent of MTN Ghana’s total revenue goes into infrastructure development – company
figures indicate $1.2billion has been invested since 2007.
According
to Mrs. Lumor, MTN is spending $105million on infrastructure growth in 2013.
Story
by Kofi Adu Domfeh
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