The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications says it is committed to ending the alarming rate of fibre cuts along major highways.
According to the chamber, 55 percent of fibre cuts are caused by government agencies such as the Ghana Highway Authority, Department of Urban Roads, ECG- PDS, Ghana Water Company Limited.
In 2018 a total of 2,500 fibre cuts were recorded while 1,500 fibre cuts have been recorded between January and August this year.
“Addressing participants at a regional stakeholder meeting in Koforidua, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, Kenneth Ashigbey indicated that the chamber is embarking on a series of action to deal with the matter.”
“There are a lot of cuts to our infrastructure. There have been a lot of cuts in the fibre cables, there are thefts of some copper and when you go to the cell sites as well, there are a lot of thefts at those places. This is really affecting the quality of service that our members provide.”
Fibre technology helps to improve the quality of service by network providers.
The fibre cables are fixed in the ground to help ensure strong network connectivity in areas they have been fixed, but fibre cuts result in low quality of service.
Government is said to be losing millions of cedis as a result of fibre cuts that the telcos have been experiencing.
In response to queries on some lapses in service deliveries in some parts of the country, some telcos cited fibre cuts as a factor accounting for that.
They lament the impact of the canker on their operations and called measures to curb the trend.
For instance, management of Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN) has hinted of a legal suit against private developers and road contractors who persistently cause damage to their fibre optic cables.
This, according to the company, has become necessary after several engagements with the Association of Road Contractors, the Ghana High Authority, the Urban Roads Department and others to find an amicable way of addressing the situation failed to yield positive results.