Telecom Chamber raises concern over frequent fibre cuts, urges legal action against offenders

The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications has raised concerns over the rising incidents of fibre cuts damaging the country’s telecommunications infrastructure.

In the first half of 2024 alone, there were 5,133 fibre cuts across the country, forcing the telecommunications industry to spend GH₵118 million on repairs.

According to a statement issued by the Chamber on Tuesday, September 24, it said these funds, which could have been used to expand and improve services, were instead reallocated to fix damaged fibre networks.

The Chamber explained that fibre, a critical resource laid underground to support faster data transfers and high-bandwidth applications, has faced frequent cuts and damages nationwide.

“These frequent disruptions directly affect the quality and availability of telecom services to Ghanaians, disrupting communication, internet connectivity, and other essential services that rely on our networks.

“These cuts, sadly, impact customer experiences. It creates congestion, poor voice calls, slow internet experience, and, in some cases, completely cuts off network services. This situation is unacceptable, and it undermines the significant investments made by telecom operators to deliver reliable services,” part of the statement read.

In response to these challenges, the Chamber said it has been engaging with the Minister of Roads and Highways, road agencies, contractors, utility companies, and other stakeholders involved in major construction and excavation projects and participation in the National Engineering Coordinating Team (NECT) meetings to push for better collaboration in protecting telecom infrastructure.

However, the Chamber noted that despite these efforts, some entities continue to cause damage to critical telecom infrastructure.

“These actions have had a direct impact on service quality, leading to outages, slowdowns, and interruptions that frustrate our subscribers and hinder the country’s digital progress,” the chamber said.

In light of this, the Chamber has called on the Ghana Police Service and Judiciary to prosecute those responsible for recurrent fibre cuts and proposed legal action against uncooperative individuals and entities, ensuring they are held accountable according to the law.

“In addition to these measures, the Telecoms Chamber believes it is essential to inform the public about the link between fibre cuts and the quality of service they experience.

“The Chamber is therefore undertaking a “Save Our Fibre” campaign to publicly highlight which construction projects are leading to fibre cuts and the communities that suffer as a result. This is to reduce and hopefully eradicate the frequent cuts.

“This “Save Our Fibre” campaign will be rolled out across social media platforms, where we will also update the public on the steps being taken to fix the damaged fibre.”

The Chamber reiterated its commitment to ensuring uninterrupted, high-quality telecom services for all subscribers, vowing to work with stakeholders to protect the nation’s telecom infrastructure and hold accountable those who undermine it.