MTN Ghana is facing a major challenge with fibre optic cable cuts in the Western and Central regions, leading to intermittent service disruptions.
According to the company’s technical manager for the region, Mr. Teddy Hayford-Acquah, these disruptions are largely caused by the activities of road contractors, private developers, and small-scale miners, costing the company millions of cedis to repair.
He said their activities with construction machines and others destroy the fibre optic cables.
Speaking at a media forum in Cape Coast, Mr. Hayford-Acquah revealed that in the Central Region, over 62 kilometres of MTN’s fibre cables have been damaged this year, costing the company five million Ghana Cedis to fix.
He emphasized that as fibre optic cables are now classified as national security infrastructure, authorities and the public must protect them.
Mr. Hayford-Acquah especially requested stakeholders to use their various platforms to initiate conversations on it as digitization thrives on the fibre infrastructure.
“We should use the various platforms that we are on to help us drive or initiate conversations on how we can collaborate on the ground to protect this natural asset because a lot of people now depend on the infrastructure,” he said.
He indicated that the MTN has more than about 600 kilometres of fibre deployed in central only, but they are projecting to expand the network, by adding another 28 kilometres of fibre cables in the region.
This is expected to be completed by the end of November.
MTN’s Chief Corporate Service and Sustainability Officer, Madam Adwoa Afriyie Wiafe, assured stakeholders that MTN is working diligently to improve service coverage nationwide.
She emphasized that the company remains concerned about issues that affect customers and is committed to providing better service.
According to her, MTN progressively rolls out plans annually for each region and they hope to provide coverage to communities without any coverage.
“It’s a matter of time, we’ll get there,” she continued.
The forum, organized for editors and stakeholders in the Central Region, allowed for discussions on how MTN can continue to improve its services and ensure better connectivity for its customers.
Read also: MTN Ghana Kick Starts this Year’s MTN SME Support Programme from the Central Region
Source: Anthony Sasu Ayisadu/ATLFMNEWS