World Dialogue on Regulation

Technical and managerial changes have taken place which have had an impact on the public’s negative perceptions of GT. The switching capacity of the fixed network has grown and improvements in the transmission network have made placing calls much easier. Public payphones have become more numerous and offer better call quality. A lot more is expected this year with the Alcatel-Shangai-Bell deal in progress.

The Onetouch mobile network has rapidly increased its subscriber base with extensive national coverage. By the end of the current rollout, it could become the premier operator in the country.

However, there could be changes in the works for Ghana Telecom. GT may soon be broken up. A group of experts are said to be pushing to break the company into several units. They are looking at the American experience in which AT&T was broken down into several regional companies and a separate long distance provider.

However, other experts in the ICT sector think that this option is not viable and could lead to chaos. One possible alternative being discussed is the disengagement of the Onetouch Mobile service from the fixed network service. A strategic investor could then be found to partner with Ghana Telecom for Onetouch while the fixed network is floated on the Ghana Stock Exchange for Ghanaians to buy shares and raise the necessary capital to improve service quality.

Source: Accra Mail