Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana, Selorm Adadevoh has reiterated the need for the telecommunication industry to improve the current infrastructure base for internet data to ensure they meet the data demands of their customers.
According to a recent Fitch Solutions report, Ghana’s telecommunication industry is said to be one of the fastest-growing in Africa and is fourth in a ranking of the most digitally matured nations in Africa and those likely to receive the bulk of data centre investments in the coming years.
According to Internet World Stats, in December 2020, Ghana had a 46.5% mobile Internet penetration rate. While this is higher than the continental average of 37.42%, it falls behind 27 other African countries.
Speaking at a gathering of industry stakeholders, Mr. Adadevoh mentioned that the industry will struggle to cope if investments to improve data infrastructure are not made now.
“We have a situation in Ghana where we have a data capacity deficit. What this simply means is that the rate of growth of demand by consumers outpaces the rate of growth of the introduction of new capacity into the infrastructure. As a result, if we don’t answer the question of how to introduce new capacity fast enough to be ahead of the demand, then at some point the infrastructure will come to a standstill. We are at this point today because of accelerated demand due to COVID-19.”
“It’s no fault of ours but the solutions lie with us as operators, regulators and partners within the industry and lastly as consumers of technology. I would like to urge all of us to think about our role in ensuring that we secure what is required to continue to maintain a viable and sustainable industry going forward,” he added.