E-READINESS QUESTIONNAIRE FOR NORTH ... - Kunnat.net

agency, the National Communications Authority (NCA backed by Act 524, 1996) has
had its ups and downs but has largely promoted competition through the regulation
of wire, cable, radio, television, satellite and similar means of technology for orderly
development and operation of effi cient communication services in Ghana 36 . Problems
encountered in Ghana’s ICT sector so far are blamed on the lack of a strong regulatory
agency especially regarding interconnection negotiations. Experts argue the NCA
lacks the full complement of staff making it vulnerable to the actions of politically supported
incumbents and new entrants. Consumers’ associations and civil society groups
have therefore advocated the NCA be strengthened for effective development of fi rmer
regulatory oversight 37 .
The telecommunications and information technology sector has seen an increase
in diffusion rates across the country with mobile phone lines exceeding fi xed lines
by 40:1 and recording one of the highest numbers of mobile phone usage in Africa.
Competition among multiple mobile-cellular providers has spurred growth with a subscribership
of 50 per 100 persons and rising. The country ended January 2009 with an
active subscriber base of 11.96 million 38 . Internet services are made available to enhance
connectivity in under-served and un-served rural areas. Internet user penetration
is still low at around 6% of the population, mainly due to the poor condition of the
national fi xed-line network and the high cost of connectivity. However, developments
are now speeding up dramatically following the introduction of wireless and third generation
(3G) mobile broadband technologies such as iBurst, WiMAX and HSPA, and
the arrival of two new international fi bre links in 2009 and 2010 which has ended the
monopolistic pricing of international bandwidth. The re-privatised national carrier,
Ghana Telecom has begun to be more effective in driving the broadband market by
expanding its retail as well as wholesale offerings. This, in combination with national
fi bre backbone networks that are being rolled out by various players, is revolutionising
the country’s broadband market and paving the way for convergence of technologies
and services 38 .
Apart from the government, the private sector has also been instrumental in developments
in this sector, building some infrastructure on their own with great success 39 .
On another front, some effort has been made in terms of awareness creation, connectivity,
national policies, hardware and software improvement, and human resource development.
In 2002, the government began an ICT policy, known as the Information
and Communication Technology for Accelerated Development (ICT4AD) to further
enhance the liberalization process. Priority areas of the ICT4AD Policy included: Human
Resource Development, Education, Governance, Private Sector Development,
ICT Products and Services, Industry Development, Agriculture and Agro-Business,
ICT Community buy-in, National Health and Research 40 . More than 120 out of an
expected 230 Community Information Centres are being constructed nationwide and
are at various stages of completion. With all these developments, people all over the
country, even in the remotest areas, are becoming increasingly aware of the powerful
role that the new information and communication technologies can play to help
in their struggle for economic and social development. As a result, there have been
dramatic moves in Ghana’s information communication system for some years now
refl ected in the use of Business Communication Centers (BCCs), Community Learning
Centers (CLCs), Internet Cafes or Cyber Cafes, and the Telecenter (TC) concept 41 .
An initiative to provide laptops to all school children is underway to promote ICT use
36 http://www.developingtelecoms.com/liberalising-ghanas-telecoms-sector-the-positives-and-the-negatives.html
37 Liberalization of Ghana’s Telecom Sector - a look at the positives and the negatives, Emily Nyarko and Lawrence Quartey,
http://www.ghananewsagency.org/s_features/r_8932
38 2009 Ghana Telecom market statistics and forecast, http://www.budde.com.au/Research/2009-Ghana-Telecoms-Mobile-Broadband-and-Forecasts.html
39 http://.budde.com.au/Research/Ghana-Internet-and-Broadband-Market-Overview-Statistics-and-Forecasts.html
40 http://www.modernghana.com/news2/246220/2/liberalixation-of-ghanas-telecom-sector.html
41 http://depot.gdnet.org/newkb/fulltext/Addom_Education_Institutions_in_Ghana.pdf
Strenghtening e-Governance in the North-South Local Government Co-operation Programme 31