By Prince Acquah
Accra, July 23, GNA – Mr Richard Acheampong, Chief Home Officer of MTN Ghana, has described internet connectivity as an essential utility, urging Ghanaians to shift their focus from the cost of data to the value it delivers.
He said just as households budgeted for water and electricity, internet access had become indispensable for education, business, healthcare, entertainment and everyday communication.
Rather than lamenting the cost of data, he urged customers to consider the value they derived from internet services and appreciate what they received for the price they paid.
Mr Acheampong made the remarks in response to concerns about the high cost of data during his participation in the Bright Conversations online stakeholder engagement.
“We have done everything to ensure that data is affordable, and you can attest to that.
“Customers should shift the focus from the cost of data to the value. Data is a utility like water and electricity,” he said.
Mr Acheampong said MTN Ghana had connected about 250,000 homes through its MTN Home Internet service, including 180,000 customers on its fibre broadband network, as part of efforts to expand reliable and affordable internet access across the country.
He said the company had enjoyed strong collaboration with regulators and support from private sector players in expanding digital infrastructure.
Mr Acheampong commended the regulators for creating an enabling environment for the telecommunications industry, saying continued collaboration remained critical to improving connectivity nationwide.
Touching on challenges confronting the sector, he said MTN recorded more than 300 fibre cuts every month, describing the situation as highly disruptive to internet services.
He said the company engaged road contractors ahead of construction projects to identify the locations of its fibre infrastructure, but those efforts had not yielded the desired results.
To minimise service disruptions, Mr Acheampong said MTN was deploying technology to manage fibre cuts while investing in backup infrastructure to improve network resilience.
He said the company was also working with the Ministry of Communications and other relevant stakeholders to ensure fibre infrastructure received the highest level of protection to safeguard the country’s growing digital economy.
Mr Acheampong maintained that telecommunications infrastructure should be treated as a national security asset, stressing that any prolonged internet outage would have far-reaching consequences for the country.
“If the internet shuts down in Ghana for two hours, all of us will feel it,” he added.
GNA
Edited by Alice Tettey /Audrey Dekalu
Reporter: Prince Acquah
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