Minister of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Sam George has announced that he will soon inaugurate the all-inclusive inter-sectorial team that will chart the path towards ensuring that Ghanaians get value for a cedi they spend on internet data.
The Minister had earlier indicated in a interview on JoyNew’s Newsfile that he had asked his team at the ministry to set up that inter-sectorial committee within fourteen days for the purpose because high data prices is a big issue for both consumers and even the industry players.
Subsequent to that, in a Facebook post, the Minister said “In the coming days, a team to discuss and chart a road map that works for everyone involved would be outdoored. The focus would be to find common grounds that are representative of the needs of the citizens, industry and govt.”
According to him, the team would have representation from the Ministries of Communication, Digital Technology & Innovation, Energy, Finance, the National Communications Authority (NCA), Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), Ghana Chamber of Telecommunication, National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), and the Association of Content Creators amongst others.
“It is my hope that the team would achieve a workable plan that sees an increase in value on data offerings across board,” said.
Sam George, had for instance, noted earlier that about 80% of the cost of the independent tower companies, who power connectivity for the telcos is power cost, and for that reason, it is important to engage with the PURC to find ways of getting those towercos a special power cost regime to then help to drive data costs down.
