The National Communications Authority (NCA) has outlined measures it is adopting for Ghana to fully recover from the recent internet disruptions and avoid similar events from recurring.
On March 14, accessing internet connectivity was difficult for most Ghanaians across the country.
The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications attributed the outages to multiple submarine optic fiber cables that connect to Ghana.
In a matter of days, internet connectivity, according to the mobile network operators (MNOs), slowly recovered. Although not fully operational as before the disruption, significant progress has been made.
According to the Director-General of the NCA, Dr Joe Anokye, his outfit has taken cues from these events and adopted measures to avoid a repetition.
Speaking at a press briefing on March 24, he said that although over the years some cables might have developed faults, it has never been on a large scale.
Nevertheless, Dr Anokye said his outfit has been proactive by developing some key strategies to prevent this.
“MNOs will be directed to connect to a cable provider in the Sub-region that is currently not landing in Ghana,” he said.
He explained that if these operators are connected to multiple cables, they could rely on others to maintain services to clients when one cable is affected.
The Director also said that in 2023, the NCA licensed a cable landing operator, Bayobad, which operates the 2Africa Cable.
He explained that this cable is the only one that circles the entire African continent.
According to him, the 2Africa cable service would either be operational by the fourth quarter of 2024 or sooner.
Additionally, he said the NCA has augmented the existing satellite licensing portfolio to include recent broadband satellite services, providing alternative connectivity options for domestic enterprise users.
Further, Dr Anokye reiterated that his outfit would work with regulators and the industry in the sub-region to encourage the extension of inter-country terrestrial fiber.
“We will continue proactively working with the industry to ensure that this situation will not occur again,” he assured.
Source: My Joy Online
