Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has announced that as of February 2024, the government has completed the construction of 1,010 out of the planned 2,016 Rural Telephony Sites.
These sites aim to extend mobile network coverage to approximately 4 million residents in selected unserved and underserved communities, a significant step towards bridging the digital divide in Ghana.
Out of the 1,010 sites constructed, 618 are already operational, providing essential Voice and Data services. This development means that citizens in about 1,620 rural communities now have access to mobile services, enhancing social and economic activities in these areas.
The Ministry plans to build the remaining 1,006 sites, integrate them, and activate them for voice and data services this year. This effort is part of the government’s commitment to providing reliable, affordable, and secure broadband infrastructure to all parts of the country.
The Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation, through the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), is driving the extension of mobile telephony services into all corners of the nation where access is either lacking or insufficient, and
where network operators are reluctant to expand their services to because those areas are deemed not to be commercially viable.
According to Madam Owusu-Ekuful, between 2008 and 2016, only 78 Rural Telephony Sites were built by GIFEC.
She revealed that “upon assumption of office in 2017, this government decided to intensify efforts to ensure comprehensive network coverage across the country in line with our Digital Ghana Agenda. Between 2017 and 2018, in collaboration with the private sector,
430 Rural Telephony Sites were built and activated. This concerted effort connected approximately 700,000 previously underserved and unserved Ghanaians in remote communities, helping to bridge the digital divide and foster inclusive development.”
“Not satisfied with the pace of this and In a bid to accelerate and expand the coverage of the Rural Telephony Project, the government in 2020 secured a €155 million facility from the China EXIM Bank to start the Ghana Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Project in partnership with Huawei and China National Technical Import and Export Corporation (CNTIC). They engaged a local partner, Ascend Digital Solutions, to execute this project,” she added.