NICI
Policy
The
process of formulating Ghana's national ICT policy was launched in March 2001. A national
stakeholder discussion was held in September 2001. A framework document was presented to
the Ministry of Communications. As part of Ghana's 'ICT for Accelerated Development'
[ICTfDev] process, the National ICT Policy and Plan
Development Committee was launched on 22 August 2002. The Committee is entrusted to
develop an integrated ICT-led socio-economic development Policy and Plan for Ghana aimed
at accelerating the country's socio-economic development process.
The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is
assisting Ghana by facilitating and supporting the work of the National ICT Policy and
Plan Development Committee. The policy process is expected to be completed by December
2002.
The contact person for the process is Professor Clement Dzidonu, President & CEO of
International Institute for Information Technology (INIIT.)
A National Consultation Process that will feed
into the development of a framework document is currently underway.
Telecommunications
Structure and Policy
Ghana deregulated the telecommunications
sector in 1994 when the government announced a five-year comprehensive restructuring of
the industry known as the "Accelerated
Development Program 1994-2000 (ADP 2000)." The main policy objectives of
the program were formulated with the assistance of the World Bank, consultants and other
stakeholders, and aim at:
- Achieving a density between 1.5 and 2.5
lines per 100 people;
- Improving public access in rural and urban
areas, through the provision of payphone facilities (public and private);
- Expanding the coverage of mobile services;
- Promoting Ghanaian ownership and control of
telecommunications companies; and
- Retaining an overall public regulatory
control of the sector through the creation of a single agency: the National
Communications Authority (NCA).
The ADP has adopted the following
strategies to achieve the above-stated policy objectives:
- the authorisation of two national network
operators: Ghana Telecom and a new independent operator;
- support of new financing:
arrangements which promote investment in new telecommunications infrastructure throughout
the country; and
- privatisation of Ghana Telecom
through the sale of a strategic stake to an international operating company combined with
measures to broaden share ownership in Ghana.
As part of the ADP reform program, Ghana Telecom
was incorporated on June 15, 1995 as a successor to the telecommunications division of Ghana
Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (GPTC). The GPTC was
established as a public corporation in 1974, and until October 1995, had been responsible
for operating the nation's telecommunications system. In December 1996, Ghana Telecom
privatised its main line operations by awarding a Malaysian-led Consortium (Telkom
Malaysia) a 30 percent stake in the state company with full management control for $38
million. The Government plans to sell a further 21 percent to the public but has not yet
made clear how and when. Ghana's cities are connected by microwave radio relay, and the
international lines are linked at one Intelsat earth station near the Atlantic Ocean.
A Consortium of African Communications
Group, led by Western Wireless Company (based in Cambridge, Mass., USA)
and Ghana National Petroleum Company, won the bid as the second network operator
with an offer of $10.1 million. The Consortium, which now trades under the name WESTEL,
intends to invest between $40 million and $70 million in the next five years. The
licensing of a second national operator is expected to meet the current backlog of 300,000
telephones lines being demanded by consumers and to ensure efficiency and improved
services. WESTEL is required to have 100 payphones in service by the end of 1998, and
the company also plans to have 50,000 customers within three years. It is using a Nortel
DMS 300 as its international gateway switch connected to a Class B Earth station.
The National
Communications Authority (NCA) was also established by Parliamentary Act 1996
as a central regulatory body to regulate the telecommunications sector and to promote a
stable operating environment for all participants, while also promoting fair competition
and efficiency. The main tasks of NCA include:
- licensing and regulation of communication
system operators; and
- assigning or allocating communications
systems frequencies.
Similar to most sub-Saharan African
countries, the distribution of telephones in Ghana is highly skewed toward the urban
areas, with Accra, the capital city, accounting for over 50 percent of all telephone
lines. Rural telephony is almost non existent, even although 70 percent of Ghanaians live
in rural areas. The Accelerated Development Program is expected to
address the above problems by narrowing the gap between the rural and urban areas, and by
increasing the number of telephones lines to 500,000 by the turn of the century. This
target appears ambitious when one considers that a phone line costs at least US$1,000 to
install. After the privatisation of Ghana telecom, phone lines have increased from 78,000
to 1442,000 in December 1998. This means almost a 100 percent increase in less than two
years.
The Ghana
Telecommunications Training Centre (GTTC) has been renovated and upgraded
following an IDA loan of $1.2 million in 1989, and it entered into a Collaborative
Agreement with Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi for
the purposes of exchange of personnel and maximisation of the use of scarce resources.
Every year the Centre trains more than 2,500 trainees, mostly from Ghana Telecom, through
its long and short-term courses and seminars, averaging more than 3,500 trainee-weeks a
year. The Centre also provides excellent facilities for hosting seminars and international
conferences. Among the excellent facilities are the Computer-based Multimedia
Learning Centre (CMLC) and an AudioVisual Centre, comprised of a studio, micro teaching
rooms and film editing centre. The Centre produces its video films and documentaries for
training back-up and enhancement.
Cellular (Mobile) phone network
Millicon Ghana,
a subsidiary of Millicom International, UK/Luxembourg, started its operation in 1991 and
was the first cellular network. Millicom Ghana uses the ETAC System, and
it had over 22,000 subscribers in 1998 with a market share of above 70% of the mobile
market in the country. The company has started the installation of a country-wide network
by commissioning a new satellite in Kumasi and organising a smaller project in Tamale.
Celltel, owned by
Kludjeson International, started its operation in Ghana in 1993 using the AMPS technology,
with coverage in Accra and Tema.
Scancom started operating
in October 1996 using GSM 900 technology, and it has 15 sites with equipment from
Ericsson. The network provides a coverage in Greater Accra, Kumasi and Obuasi, and it has
plans to expand its service to Sunyani.
Onetouch is a department
of Ghana Telecom under preparation to provide cellular services at a much
wider scale. It is expected to begin mobile radio-based operations using
GSM technology to attract 98,000 subscribers from all the 10 regions of Ghana. However, it
plans to introduce CDMA systems into the network and to change its remaining analogue
exchanges to digital in 1998.
The second national operator, trading under
the name WESTEL, is undergoing the preparation necessary in order
to operate a nation-wide GSM cellular service.
Communications Policy
The Ministry of Communications was created
in 1997 to facilitate the strategic development and application of the use of the various
communications resources - human, material and technological - for effective
communications throughout the country. The Ministry (acting on behalf of the Government of
Ghana) has since then embarked on a process aimed at formulating a workable national
communications policy for Ghana. Accordingly, a conference on the Ghana National
Policy on Communications was held on 7-9 October 1998, at the Accra
International Conference Centre as a primary forum to discuss and obtain a deeper
understanding of cognitive, social, and practical issues underlying effective
communications.
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ICT Networking
Development
In order to assist developing countries in
articulating their demand for ICT applications, the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) facilitated
National ICT Roundtables. The Roundtables focused on the identification, development and
implementation of an ICT policy and of pilot projects. At the request of and in
co-operation with the Internet Society of Ghana (ISOG) and the Ministry of Communications,
IICD organised a National ICT Roundtable in Accra on May 11-15, 1998. The group came up
with the following recommendations:
- the Government should play an important role
in raising ICT awareness with the larger public and specific target groups;
- ICT policy should aim at widespread and easy
access to national information in an affordable and timely manner;
- measures should be taken to address a
potential information gap; and
- focus needs to be made on the pressing need
for a skilled base of human resource and for government stimulation of research and
development in ICT.
The workshop effectuated five project
proposals:
- Environment Information Network:
the goal of the project is to improve environmental management by collecting and
processing environmental information into a web-based information system. The database
will contain information on forestry, the protection of animals and plants, and other
relevant environmental issues.
- E-Commerce for Non-Traditional
Exports: the project will develop an information service for producers and
exporters of non-traditional exports, such as fruits and fish.
- National Information Clearing-House:
the project aims at linking various databases run and maintained by the private companies
and governmental institutions, and at making the information accessible to users in the
private and public sector. The Clearing-house will play the role of an information broker.
- Training Centre for ICT:
the project will initially focus on training ICT specialists in networking and
applications. Capacity building and information services will ultimately contribute to a
faster and better development of ICT in and between organisations.
- Hospital Information System:
the project will develop an information system that enables health institutions in Ghana
to keep records electronically.
The Ghana National Committee on
Internet Connectivity (GNCIC) was formed in February 1996 to implement the
InfoDev Ghana Project with support and sponsorship from UNESCO, ITU, UNDP and the World
Bank's InfoDev Programme. The Project's objective is to promote the development of
telematics in areas of public concern in Ghana. Ghana Workshop on
Internetworking Technology (GITW97) is the first of a series of workshops
organised by the Ghana National Committee on Internet Connectivity (GNCIC) for Public
Sector Institutions. It was one of the activities of the Infodev Project and sponsored by
UNESCO, ITU (International Telecommunication Union), PAC (Physics Action Council) and
UNDP. The workshop was hosted by the University of Ghana during the period January 30,
1997 - February 15, 1997.
HealthNet Ghana: There are
two HealthNet nodes in Ghana: one in Accra at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital which uses
phone lines to exchange data, and the other in Navrongo, where the low earth-orbiting
satellite is used.
African Universities Network
(AAUnet): The purpose of AAUnet is to help as-yet-unconnected universities in
Africa gain a connection to the Internet. The aim is to facilitate communication among
universities and other academic institutions in Africa, as well as with similar
institutions in the rest of the world. The ultimate goal is to become a reliable
electronic forum to encourage research and active exchange and sharing of knowledge and
experiences.The type of network is TCP/IP.
The University of Ghana was made a national Fidonet host
for Ghana in June 1995. The host computer is located in the Balme Library under the
sponsorship of the PADIS/IDRC CABECA (Capacity Building in Electronic Communication for
Africa) project. The system was originally installed in September 1994 as a local host of
the University of Ghana. As a national host, the University is now responsible for
maintaining connectivity with nodal points (i.e., the user community in Ghana) and the
outside world.
So far 65 points have been connected to the
network (as of July 1996). There are three other local hosts: the University of Science
and Technology in Kumasi, the University of Cape Coast, and the Centre for Scientific and
Industrial Research (CSIR), Accra. The points include 17 departments and other individuals
on the University of Ghana Campus. The Balme Library also acts as an Electronic Post
Office for individuals and departments on the university campus who are not yet connected
to the host by modems.
There are three other major tertiary
institutions in Ghana which currently connect via dial-up links to the University of
Ghana: the University of Science and Technology (Kumasi), the University of
Development Studies, and the University College of Education.
The Computer Science Department of
the University of Ghana has a programme for students leading to a B.Sc. degree in computer
science.
Ghana Computer Literacy
& Distance Learning Project [GhaCLAD] is a special project of the
Voluntary Workcamps Association of Ghana in collaboration with Projectscope Inc. of
Boston, USA. The objectives of GhaCLAD are mainly to explore means of utilising computers,
telecommunications, audio/visual media and information technology to enhance primary,
secondary, tertiary, vocational and professional development, and continuing adult
education in Ghana.
The GHASTINET project
under the National Science and Technology Library and Information Centre (NASTLIC) of the Council for
Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) serves nine important sectors of
the economy. CSIR strives to link up researchers to various sources of information,
bringing collaborators and researchers together, as well as linking universities and
other associations both home and abroad. GHASTINET has the primary aim of
advancing scientific research in the country.
There are three full Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
in Ghana, each with their own independent internal Internet links. These are Network Computer Systems (NCS), InternetGhana and InternetMCI.
The Ghana Chapter of the Internet Society has been active
in promoting the expansion of the Internet in Ghana. The Society has placed particular
attention on the Internet reaching rural communities in a manner and language
suitable for their participation.
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ICT Partners and Projects
Satellite data and Geographical
Informations System: The project sponsored by the Swedish International
Development Co-operation Agency (Sida), attempts to evaluate how a combination of high
resolution satellite data and Geographical Information System (GIS) can be used as a tool
in groundwater exploration and water resources planning in semi-arid areas. The project
will comprise identifying the applications and limitations of detailed interpretations of
SPOT and Landsat TM satellite data complemented with field data, such as borehole records,
geophysical investigations and geological mapping, to aid the accurate assessment of
groundwater resources in developing countries. The project is a co-operation and exchange
of experiences with government departments in Botswana and Ghana. Results from both
project areas will be used in the final evaluation of the GIS/satellite data methodology.
Promotion and development of telematics
in the public sector in Ghana : The project sponsored by l'Agence de la
Francophonie (ACCT) aims to help empower user institutions in the public sectors in
Ghana to consolidate their demand for national and international telematics services and
to be in a position to define and develop appropriate applications and local access
infrastructures. The results of the project will include a national public sector
telematics user association, a nuclear public sector Internet backbone, and a
sustainable national telematics demonstration and training centre for technical
specialists. In addition, the project is proposed as a prototype for planned assistance to
African countries in the telematics field under the UN System-Wide Special Initiative on
Africa.
National ICT Roundtable Ghana: The
National ICT Roundtable was implemented by the Internet Society of Ghana, with the
support from the Ministry of Communication and from the International Institute for Communication and
Development (IICD). The Roundtable focuses on capacity building and on
capturing "lessons learned" and "best practices."
Business Plan Development for
Telecommunication/Information Centers in Ghana: The objective of the project is
to produce a business plan for the establishment and operation of a network of information
service centers in Ghana which will provide telecommunication and information services to
local customers, primarily unserved or underserved communities. The project, funded
by Infodev, is to be implemented by VITA
(Volunteers in Technical Assistance).
US Leland
Initiative in Ghana: The project has extended the
availability of full Internet outside Accra, and the establishment of Community
Learning Centers is underway.
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