The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications has raised concerns over the sharp increase in fibre cuts across the country, describing the situation as a major threat to network stability and service reliability.
Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber, Sylvia Owusu-Ankomah, disclosed that telecom operators are now dealing with more than 8,000 fibre cuts annually, compared to about 400 cuts recorded in the earlier stages of network deployment.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the Chamber’s 15th anniversary soft launch, Ms. Owusu-Ankomah said the rising number of fibre cuts is placing enormous financial and operational pressure on telecommunications companies.
According to her, resources that could have been invested in network expansion and improved services are now being redirected into repair and maintenance works.
“We are experiencing over 8,000 cuts per annum when it comes to fibre cuts, which is increasingly a strain on our operators’ resources,” she stated.
“Resources and investment that could have been used to ensure new rollouts, you find them being used to ensure they are meeting their quality obligations by repairing those fibre cuts,” she added.
Ms. Owusu-Ankomah attributed the growing exposure of fibre infrastructure partly to the rapid expansion of telecommunications networks, which has helped increase internet penetration in Ghana from about four per cent to over 70 per cent.
She maintained that fibre cuts remain one of the biggest challenges confronting the telecommunications industry in Ghana.
“So we want to make sure that the 15-year journey counts for something, and so one of the key milestones, as I said, we want to stop the conversation around fibre cuts and get more progressive as a country,” she remarked.
To address the challenge, the Chamber is advocating the implementation of the proposed “dig once” policy, which seeks to make fibre duct infrastructure mandatory in major road construction projects.
According to the Chamber, the policy would strengthen network resilience by allowing telecom operators to use protected underground ducts for fibre installations.
The industry is also seeking government support to fast-track implementation of the policy, following indications that discussions on the proposal are already at Cabinet level.
Ms. Owusu-Ankomah stressed that resolving the fibre cut challenge is essential to sustaining network quality and supporting Ghana’s future digital expansion.
“This has been a plague of the industry for quite a while and we believe Ghana has matured enough to put a stop to it. That is why for us the ‘dig once’ policy needs to come to life this year,” she added.
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