Following the recent repair of undersea cables that disrupted internet connectivity in March 2024, stakeholders are urging the government to strengthen the protection of Ghana’s fiber optic cable infrastructure along major roads.
The disruption impacted four West African countries, including Ghana, and left millions without reliable internet access for a few weeks.
While the National Communications Authority (NCA) has confirmed the full restoration of internet access, the Ghana Telecoms Chamber emphasises the need for improved protection of onshore fiber optic infrastructure to ensure consistent and reliable service.
The Director General of the NCA, Dr Joe Anokye, acknowledged the completion of repair works and announced that the Authority is implementing the country’s satellite services policy framework to mitigate the effects of similar disruptions in the future.
Speaking to JoyNews, he stated that, “we are happy to announce that all four sub-sea cable landing service providers, ACE, SAT-3, and WACS, have completed repairs on the sub-sea capable that got damaged, leading to the March 14th incident. According to the sub-sea-capable service providers, all four cable faults were found at the crossing with the sub-sea on the coast of Abidjan.”
The Chief Executive Officer of the Telecoms Chamber, Ken Ashigbey, has raised concerns over the frequent cuts to fiber optic cables across Ghana due to road and drainage construction works.
He emphasised the need to treat these cables as national security assets and prioritise their protection to ensure improved service delivery.
“When we continue to have the incidence where a lot of fiber cut-up goes on when drainage works and road constructions are happening, and other private developers are affected by these fiber cuts, they result in a significant impact on our quality and service as we build on the resilience of the undersea cable and other torrential connectivity.
“We need to ensure that our trunks and the last mile of connectivity are protected. We have all seen the importance of data connectivity in our lives. So, we need to start treating fiber connectivity as a critical resource, and that needs a lot more protection than we have been doing in the past. So, if we want to see further improvement in the quality of our services, we need to do a lot more to protect our infrastructure,” he noted.
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