Thieves to blame for MTN network wahala

The leading telecommunications operator in the country, Mobile Telecommunication Network (MTN), has attributed intermittent disruption of services to theft of its property at various cell sites by some unscrupulous persons.

Charles Akoto, a Technical Officer of MTN disclosed that batteries that serve as backup in event of power failure at the sites were commonly stolen by the thieves.

Though there are plants in almost all the cell sites, there are contingency measures to ensure that customers enjoy uninterrupted services in the event that the plants fail to function as well, he disclosed.

According to him, the batteries have a standby power time of eight hours to serve as transition between the national grid and the plants at the sites.

During a meeting with editors of various media houses in Tamale, Mr. Akoto expressed worry about the increase in the activities of the unscrupulous people, urging residents to be vigilant to tackle the menace.

He indicated that cell sites in the three Northern regions were replaced with new ones at the end of August, this year to provide quality services to clients.

The MTN Technical Officer added that most cell sites had been upgraded to 3G while others were improved to 2G, noting that plans would be put in place to enable customers to derive optimum satisfaction.

Plans are far advanced to upgrade a number cell sites in the three regions. During the period, customers may experience slight interruptions. Cynthia Lumor, Corporate Services Executive of MTN, told journalists that the move was not a deliberate attempt by MTN to frustrate its clients.

Some of the interruptions are beyond the company as we have to liaise with other state institutions to carry out certain expansion works, she said.

According to her, the company had invested a lot of money into improving its network and services in order to remain the leader in the communications industry in Ghana.

She however called for collaboration with various communities where cell sites had been sited to help curb the theft of batteries and fiber to enable the company to serve them better.