Accra, April 8, GNA - Ghana is to host two major international Information and Communication Technology (ICT) conferences this year to promote and enhance the development of internet usage in rural communities. They are the International Telecommunication Union Workshop on Numbering Planning and Convergence of Numbering scheduled for April 28-30, and the Fifth Annual Connecting Rural Communities Forum scheduled for August 17-19, this year.

The workshop is being organised by the Ministry of Communications in collaboration with the ITU as part of the implementation of the Doha Action Plan adopted at the World Telecommunication Development Conference in 2006. Speaking at the launch, Mr. Gideon Quarcoo, Deputy Minister of Communications, said the workshop on numbering was important because as a regulatory instrument, numbering had increased significantly with fair and transparent access to numbers being an essential part of ensuring a competitive telecommunication market. He said telecommunication numbering was a scarce resource that needed to be managed carefully.

"It is in this direction that the Ministry has included numbering as part of Ghana's Universal Access and Service policy, being implemented by the National Communications Authority", Mr. Quarcoo said. According to him, ITU would provide a comprehensive understanding of key issues surrounding numbering, particularly dealing with policy and regulatory framework, management of the numbering plan, business model and methods of billing, number portability and domain name systems. He said the workshop presented ideal training resource for professionals involved in learning more about the regulation and management of numbering in the communication sector. Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, Chief Executive Officer of Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation, said the forum on connecting rural communities would explore how to enhance access to internet in those areas. Key issues to be discussed include ICT training, rural community communication networks and local e-content generation. 8 April 10