Third GSM Operator Hits The Market

The countrys cellular market is moving a step further with the scheduled introduction of Millicom Ghana’s GSM service- BUZZ: Now you are talking! It will bring to three, the number of GSM service providers, with Scancom Ghana (Spacefon) and Ghana Telecom (OneTouch) taking the lead. The entrance of Mobitel- BUZZ, is expected to increase competition in the cellular market, improve quality of service and reduce cost.

Millicom Ghana Limited, the first cellular service provider in Ghana will continue to operate its analog service alongside the GSM service. The launch scheduled for Tuesday was preceded by the unveiling of a plaque on Monday.

The anticipated launch of the GSM service last year was stalled after the company’s equipment was seized by the National Communications Authority (NCA). The seizure followed the discovery that the imported equipment was GSM and not filters as declared by the company. The NCA said the company had no authorisation to bring in the GSM equipment.

Sources close to the NCA said the refusal to grant the company the authorisation was because of its indebtedness to the authority after it failed to pay millions of dollars owed in regulatory and other fees. The NCA is battling other telecommunication firms for similar arrears.

Millicom Ghana received the authorisation a couple of weeks ago after it petitioned the Minister for Communications and Technology. Details of the reasons for granting the authorisation and whether payment has been made for the over $3 million dollar arrears are not yet known.

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(from Chronicle) Millicom Ghana Limited, Monday this week, unveiled a plaque to commemorate the digital service it has longed to see.

In unveiling the plaque, Communications and Technology Minister, Mr Felix Owusu-Adjapong, said the GSM mobile cellular network will generate the required competition within the industry as it has increased the number of the providers to three.

He added that as the world is fading out the analogue systems, it is imperative for the economies that are picking up to strive for technologies that look towards the future: this is a further dimension in the company's modernisation programme.

Mr Adjapong stated that his ministry is encouraging the diffusion of telecommunication services to cover the entire country.

This, he said, is to ensure that adequate infrastructure is provided to facilitate the total coverage of the country.

The Communications and Technology Minister explained that mobitel which is a pioneer in the cellular industry in Ghana, had the advantage of possessing the 900MHz spectrum which is ideal for GSM transmission, the company, he said, was employing this spectrum for an analogue network.

This inefficient use of the spectrum led to Mobitel being asked to migrate from some of its frequencies to enable the country accommodate the cellular companies currently operating the GSM service.

He explained that it was very unfortunate that at the time Mobitel wanted to introduce its GSM service, it was approached under circumstances quite inconsistent with the provisions of the regulations of the industry which attracted the attention of the NCA to conduct its own investigations and apply the appropriate sanctions.

He disclosed that his outfit had undertaken, in the past year, measures to remove the bottlenecks that have constrained the development of an efficient telecommunications system that would provide the benefits of world- class service at competitive prices.

He expected that millicom will continue to grow to contribute its quota to the socio-economic development of the country in this golden age of business.

The chief executive officer of Millicom Africa, Mr Christopher Vivic, on his part, said Millicom has over the past 10 years remained very loyal to its customers and the Ghanaian economy at large.

He therefore appealed to its subscribers to bear with the inconveniences of the inception of the new network but he was hopeful that in a few weeks, it would be all right.

Mr Vivic appealed to the government to co-operate with them in order to realise the dream of the golden age of business.

He hoped that Millicom would grow to support the nation and its subscribers at large.