Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MTN Ghana, Selorm Adadevoh, has said the MTN Group in partnership with Vodafone, Google and Facebook are looking to bring 5G internet connectivity into the country.
Making the disclosure at the maiden edition of the Ghana Diaspora Investment Summit on Wednesday, Mr Adadevoh averred the introduction of the 5G network into Ghana by 2023 forms part of company’s efforts to facilitate a healthy internet ecosystem in the country.
The 5G network he noted, will be enabled through the completion of the 2Africa Submarine Cable Project.
“We recognise our responsibility as an African based telecommunication service provider to support the ever increasing demand for internet services and have invested in partnership with several other players being Google, Facebook and Vodafone in the 2Africa submarine cable project which we hope to land in Ghana in 2023.”
“The project boasts a length 37km of fibre and optical fibre for the 2Africa submarine cable which will link up Western Europe with the Middle East and through 16 African countries including Ghana.”
“This forms part of MTN Group’s efforts to facilitate a healthy internet ecosystem by enabling additional internet capacity and faster internet speed at lower cost with the deployment of technology such as 4G and 5G for the benefit of millions of Ghanaians and businesses,” he averred.
The 2Africa is one of the largest subsea cable projects in the world and will interconnect 23 countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.
At 37,000 kilometers long, 2Africa will be nearly equal to the circumference of the Earth. It will provide nearly three times the total network capacity of all the subsea cables serving Africa today.
When completed, this new route will deliver much-needed internet capacity, redundancy, and reliability across Africa; supplement a rapidly increasing demand for capacity in the Middle East; and support further growth of 4G, 5G, and broadband access for hundreds of millions of people.
Speaking further at the event, Mr Adadevoh posited that MTN Ghana over its 25 years stay in Ghana has invested over $6 billion in expanding the country’s telecommunication infrastructure and increasing access to internet connectivity which has seen record growth in recent time resulting in what the telecom giant describes as “Data Capacity Deficit.”
“Rapid growth of internet adoption in Ghana is fueled by significant and sustained investment in network infrastructure, policy advancement and innovation introduced consistently in a stable economic and political environment.”
“These advancements have been further fast tracked by the pandemic which in our estimation has brought forward digital revolution by a good 3 to 5 years leading to faster growth in demand for digital services as a new capacity is being introduced.”
“A situation we refer to as a Data Capacity Deficit in Ghana where demand for data services is outpacing the supply of capacity to provide internet services, this has put enormous pressure on our existing infrastructure and begs various interventions to continue to serve the growing demand,” he averred.
In view of that, he proposed that going forward the telecom industry should focus on 5 priorities to address the surge in data demand by the Ghanaian populace
- Accessibility and affordability of the internet by every Ghanaian
- A competitive ICT sector that delivers consumer choice, low prices and good coverage
- Quality on demand, fast broadband access capability and features to adjust speed to pricing for consumers and businesses
- Favourable regulatory environment, and an eco system that supports digital innovation, online commercial activity and a sustainable telecoms industry with the ability to invest in new innovations such as 5G
- Delivering on the digital dream and becoming an industry that can support government’s vision of a digital Ghana and consequently increasing shared value and revenue to government.
