Private players in the sector made the call and said the state should also attach the same importance to such infrastructure as it did to utilities.

That, according to them, would help lower the cost of installation, maintenance and subsequently the general prices of telecommunications services.

Quality service

This came to light at the maiden telecoms sector stakeholders dialogue series in Accra last Tuesday.  The Network of Communications Reporters (NCR) organised the forum on the theme: “Moving from Service Quality to Service Excellence.”

The leading mobile telecoms operator, MTN?Ghana, sponsored the Dialogue Series, which is expected to be held quarterly to discuss issues affecting the sector.

In a presentation on the role of the Telecoms Chamber, the Head of Research and Communications at the chamber, Mr Derek Laryea, underscored the need for telecoms infrastructure to be considered national security assets to prevent the stealing and vandalising of those installations.

“We need to punish people who indiscriminately cut fibre, steal the cables and diesel from cell sites and batteries that are supposed to enable the transmission to make sure customers enjoy the network without interruptions,” he said.

Mr Laryea underscored the need for more punitive measures to be applied to such people to ensure that the industry was sanitised for customers to enjoy the best services.

Allegations debunked

He debunked allegations that cell sites caused cancer, explaining that there were regular measurement of the level of radiation transmitted by telecom signals which he described as non-ironised radiation that was not dangerous to human beings.

He said factors that affected the quality of service telecom networks provided included bad weather, obstacles between terminals, indiscriminate use of devices to jam signals and a sudden high population density of an area, mostly due to events.

Minister urges

In a speech delivered on her behalf, the Communications Minister, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, urged reporters with interest in telecommunications issues not to restrict themselves to the organisation of quarterly events where topical issues affecting players and customers in the industry were discussed. Rather, she said, the NCR must see itself as part of the solutions and contribute to making the industry perform better.

Touching on the theme of the event, Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said the issue had been a haunting complaint and stressed the need for players to up their game to give customers value for their money.

Against that backdrop, the minister challenged the NCR as a media group to develop the interest in monitoring compliance and make all industry sectors alive to their responsibilities.

NCA measures

The Director of Regulatory Administration at the National Communication Authority (NCA),  Mr Kofi Datsa, said the authority had established quality of service indicators for operators which it monitored once a quarter in the metropolises and twice a year in all the districts within the country.

He said the NCA also conducted monthly consumer research sessions in all regions involving face to face interactions with small groups of consumers during which they educated them on their rights.

The Editor of the Daily Graphic, Mr Ransford Tetteh, who chaired the event, made a case for the telecoms to engage the public on a regular basis to explain issues to them in the spirit of cooperation.

Mr Tetteh, who is also the newly installed Nkosuohene of Pakro under the stool name Nana Kwaku Dei, called for regular public education by the telecos and stated that “our fixation with many handsets is an expression of failure by our telecom operators.”

Dean speaks

In his welcome remarks, the Dean of the NCR, Mr Charles Benoni Okine, had said since the liberalisation of the telecommunications sector in 1997, the industry had grown to become the anchor of the Ghanaian economy.

He said although the statistics indicated a high growth in the sector, there remained nagging challenges and concerns from consumers on rampant call drops, poor sound quality and signalling delays, fair and transparent pricing and value for money in spite of the huge sacrifices customers had made in the past to nurture the sector.

Mr Okine, who is also the Assistant Editor of the Graphic Business, said fluctuations in signal quality within the same area and the inexplicable loss of data and airtime on consumer’s gadgets were common complaints easily explained away by the operators without improvement in service provision.

The NCR, therefore, encouraged the telecos to find innovative ways to improve their services, offer more transparency in pricing and educate the public to improve their user experience.