[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he use of technology is now common in every part of Ghana and everyone wants to go technology. It is common that everyone now owns a mobile phone but it has become difficult using those mobile phones in making phones calls due to poor network.
In most parts of the Northern Region, the popular network provider; MTN which uses its slogan as “everywhere you go” would have to be renamed since the network is limited to only urban areas. Most of the mobile phone users would have to hang their mobile phones on top of trees to access network for receiving of incoming calls.
[ads1]The problems of poor network is common in the following Districts in the Northern Region where the reporter visited: Nanumba North, Nanumba South, Kpandai District, Yagaba Moaduri, Nkwanta North and South, Saboba, Mion and Cheriponi.
Rural areas are mostly hardly hit by this problem. Most towns like Bimbilla, Chamba, Kpassa, Kpandai, Damanko, have network poles but is unfortunate that just about a distance of 4.5km to the location of the pole, the subscribers cannot access network to make phone calls and to browse. The WhatsApp users would always have to travel to towns to be able to receive and respond to messages.
Among the MTN users, the network is so poor that subscribers in the environs of those towns cannot make calls and to browse the internet. The residents of the following villages in Nanumba North District always find it difficult to make calls at the comfort of their homes: Bolni, Mayefuni, Juanayili, Nakpa, Taali, Manchoni, Dakpam, Falakugmado, Makayli etc, in Nanumba South, Villages such as Dalaan-Yili, Ndabilni, Bandajua, Benduli, Monchani , Sakpe, Baduli, Takoradi, Tinageriya, Mobaand areas popularly called “overseas area” (villages across River Dakar in Eastern Part of Bimbilla).
Among Vodafone Users, the network is fairly good as compared to MTN but is not good as expected in Nanumba North and South but the same is not experience in other places especially Nkwanta North. Residents of towns such as Sibi, Damanko and its environs in the Volta North cannot access Vodafone Network at all. This compels the subscribers to put down their SIM cards and only use them when traveling to areas where network can be accessible.
The Subscribers of Tigo and Airtel are okay with the network in many parts of these areas but those networks are not widely used as compared with the giants like MTN and Vodafone.
It is important to note that, due to in availability of internet cafes in those areas, most of the formally educated people use their smart phones in accessing internet for news, e-mails and other information. But due to the bad nature of the network they cannot do that. The world has become a global village and as such everybody no matter the geographical location who is subscribed to a particular network should be able to utilize the services for maximum benefit.
The reporter wants to use this platform to call on the service providers of those communication networks to try as much as possible to give the customers the value for their monies for expanding the network poles to reach every location as MTN says one will get network “everywhere you go” as their slogan, Vodafone alleges that the use of their network is to Power to the people while Tigo says every subscriber will be able to express him/herself and Airtel promises good services to the smart phone users. In Ghana, you want to make or receive a phone call on the MTN Line and always you are told network busy.
Just as is done in countries like South Africa, where Electricity poles are used by erecting network antennas on them in expanding the network, the same technology can be adopted in Ghana to improve the network for effective communication.
Report by: Abraham Njonaan Nlenkiba/Bimbilla for Awake News
