As part of the strategy to become the leading digital solution platform for the progress of Africa, MTN Ghana is committed to investing one billion dollars by 2025 in order to address the network challenges across the country, particularly in rural communities.
According to the acting corporate service officer of the multinational company, Mrs Georgina Asare Fiagbenu, the move forms part of the company’s efforts to transform its network and support Ghana’s digital drive by ensuring new rural telephony sites and coverage extensions are deployed.
Speaking at a media and stakeholders forum in Takoradi on August 25, Mrs Asare Fiagbenu noted that MTN Ghana’s 4G network now covers all 260 districts of the country with the company planning to deploy 400 new sites in rural areas and upgrade 746 sites to 4G. Mrs Asare Fiagbenu said currently 99.5 percent of the population are on 2G, 97.8 percent on 3G and 90.7 on its 4G network while LTE population coverage has improved from 71.72 percent to 90.7 percent.
In as much as the company is willing and determined to make such an investment, Mrs Asare Fiagbenu highlighted that frequent damage to fibre-optic cabling across the country continues to hinder stable and effective network provision in some areas.
She decried that between January to May of this year, fibre cuts increased to 939 from 819 in the same period of 2021, primarily due to road building and private development activities.
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She also highlighted on the contributions that her outfit has made to the Ghana revenue generation, indicating that MTN has contributed Gh¢3.1b to the country’s revenue since its existence in the country.
She said the contribution entails employment that the company has provided to the Ghanaian youths and the taxes paid to the Ghanaian government since its inception in the country some twenty-six years ago.
Breaking it down, Mrs Asare Fiagbenu stated that her outfit has provided over 500,000 jobs to the Ghanaian youths through its ecosystem of partnership and suppliers while a total of Gh¢2.54m representing 4.4 percent of its profit has been paid to the Ghanaian government as taxes and Gh¢119m as national fiscal stabilisation levy to the government.
She also mentioned that about 56 percent of the overall communication service tax received which is Gh¢297m has been paid to the government.[ads4]
She continued that, “We have been supporting the local value chains with 75 percent of our spend going to local suppliers. Total active suppliers base is 1,144 with 897 as local suppliers, representing 78 percent of the active local suppliers base in 2021. Total spend of Gh¢3,201,552,901 and local supplier spend is 75 percent of the total spend.”
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