The Director General of the National Communication Authority (NCA), Dr. Joe Anokye, has reaffirmed to the public that, by the end of the year, data prices will be reduced with the introduction of the NGIC wholesale carrier-neutral open access network.
Speaking during an interview with Citi FM’s Umaru Sanda Amadu, Dr. Joe Anokye explained that, the NGIC wholesale carrier-neutral open access network will help operators like AT, Telecel, and MTN to purchase bulk data without upgrading towers or equipment, leading to increased efficiency and reduced costs.
“Data prices are expected to go down, especially again with the NGIC wholesale career neutral open access, now AT, now Telecel, even MTN, they will just buy bulk, they don’t have to upgrade towers, they don’t have to buy new equipment to provide 4G, another entity is doing that.”
“They are supposed to launch by the last quarter of the year, and going from there we begin adding more towers. I think we should be hopeful”, He stated.
His comments come after netizens criticized the high cost of data and thus, called for the dissolution of the NCA board citing that, the declaration of MTN as Ghana’s largest network provider as a Significant Market Power in 2020 is the reason for the price hikes.
However, in a statement, the NCA clarified that, declaring MTN as a Significant Market Power is not intended to punish or stifle MTN’s operation but rather to ensure a level playing field in the market and protect consumer choice.
