Ghana Pledges No New Mobile Operators and Better Mobile Service

The Ghanaian government recently pledged to license no new mobile operators. With six operators in Ghana, the market is already crowded. The government says the decision is to preserve the integrity of the market, and encourages all operators not already doing so, to begin printed scratch-off airtime cards in Ghana.

The announcement may be related to Vice President’s recent courier to the National Communications Authority (NCA), requesting that the regulatory body apply sections to operators that have failed to honor their license and meet minimum quality services standards. As users increase, network quality in Ghana has markedly diminished. Common complaints include poor call quality, dropped calls, inadequate coverage, and network congestion.

The Vice President also recommended that mobile users walk with their cedis, that is, migrate from lower performing networks to higher performing networks. Unfortunately, because users can’t keep their old numbers when transferring networks, this won’t happen anytime soon. As the market won’t solve the problem, the government is looking towards the NCA to solve the problem and apply sanctions to under-performing networks.

This is article is syndicated from Appfrica.org. Appfrica.org facilitates, mentors and incubates entrepreneurs in software in East Africa and Uganda. Their goal is to offer a physical space with a solid internet connection, servers, software and computers that will allow students and recent graduates a place to develop their ideas in a constructive environment with industry professionals outside of school. For more great articles from Appfrica please visit Appfrica.net.