Phase One of Fibre Backbone Project ready

Page 48: June 6, 2008.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE first phase of the National Communication Fibre Backbone Project has been completed.
The project, which was funded with a $30 million loan from the Eximbank of China, is expected to enhance rapid communication of data in the country and to other countries.
Currently, the Ministry of Communications is receiving applications from telecom operators, Internet service providers and companies, including banks to purchase the bandwidth capacity to improve their services.
The sector minister, Dr Benjamin Aggrey Ntim, told the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday that communication service providers that used the facility would be in the position to provide excellent, uninterrupted and enhanced services to their clients.
He said the Fibre Backbone Project had a much bigger capacity to contain large volumes of data and transmit it faster.
He said the project could be likened to a “motorway”, thus enhancing faster and uninterrupted movement from one end to another.
Dr Ntim cited for instance that until the project became a reality, a call to Lome had to be re-routed through France before being connected to Lome.
He explained that with the project in place now, all calls to neighbouring countries and to Europe and the US would go through direct in a much clearer voice and without any voice interruptions or delays.
He said the government was currently seeking funds for the second phase of the project to cover most of the northern sector and connect some towns in the southern sector.
Dr Ntim said the first phase ended at Tamale, while there was also the need to connect Ho to Aflao and Cape Coast to Mankessim in the second phase.
He said the government had committed itself to accelerating the development of the ICT industry because of the potential impact of a well-functioning ICT environment on employment, enhanced government services and growth.