Deliver quality service customers pay for - NCA boss tells telcos

The Director-General of the National Communications Authority (NCA), Edmund Yirenkyi Fianko, has directed telecommunications operators to improve service quality and ensure value for money for consumers amid growing complaints over poor network performance. 

He lamented that poor quality of service had become the biggest threat to public trust in the telecommunications industry after 30 years of sector growth.

“The public is telling us in growing numbers and in increasingly clear terms that the service they are paying for is not the service they are receiving.

Drop calls, slow data, coverage that fades the moment one moves beyond the major urban corridors and in our newer peri-urban settlements and across many of our rural communities. There are places where there is simply no usable service at all,” he said. 

Mr Fianko was speaking at an industry stakeholder forum in Accra yesterday to commemorate this year’s World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD).

The WTISD is commemorated annually to raise global awareness of social changes brought about by the Internet and new technologies. It also aims to help reduce the digital divide.

The event, organised by the NCA, brought together sector players and industry leaders and featured a flag raising ceremony to commemorate the day. 

NCA’s efforts  

Mr Fianko said the NCA had tightened quality-of-service benchmarks and would soon publish operator-by-operator performance data for public scrutiny.

He said operators had submitted roadmaps covering network expansion, fibre upgrades, transmission improvements and power reliability, with noticeable improvements expected from August, this year.

He warned that the authority would closely monitor implementation timelines and enforce compliance where necessary. 

The NCA boss also called for national collaboration to protect telecommunication infrastructure from vandalism, fibre cuts and illegal mining activities, stressing that reliable connectivity had become essential for commerce, education, healthcare and everyday life.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications (GCT), Sylvia Owusu-Ankomah, urged the government and regulators to accelerate the country’s 5G rollout, saying the country was already behind global trends.

She called for investor-friendly regulations, affordable smart devices, stronger digital infrastructure policies and a stable SIM registration regime to support innovation and industry growth.

Industry inputs

The President of the Ghana Internet Service Providers Association (GISPA), Michael Nfordzo, advocated expanded broadband access, transparent regulatory processes and incentives for underserved communities.

He also called for faster deployment of 5G services and stronger collaboration between regulators and internet service providers to deepen digital inclusion and improve internet resilience nationwide.

The President of the Association of Submarine Cable Operators of Ghana (ASCOG), Emmanuel Kwarteng, described submarine cable systems as critical national economic infrastructure carrying over 95 per cent of the country’s international internet traffic.

He called for stronger protection laws, faster permit approvals, better inter-agency coordination and tougher penalties against activities that damaged submarine cable infrastructure.

The Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) proposed the separation of public service broadcasting from commercial broadcasting operations.

It also advocated the introduction of a dedicated public service media tax to sustainably fund public broadcasting activities and ensure the independence and effectiveness of public service media delivery in the country.

The Head of CUTS International West Africa Centre, Appiah Adomako, called for stronger consumer protection and competition regulation within the telecom sector.

He urged the NCA to include consumer representatives on its board, strengthen quality-of-service enforcement and introduce consumer scorecards to track operators’ responsiveness, billing practices and overall service delivery.