The government plans to construct 800 new cell sites and upgrade 2,000 existing ones nationwide within the year, the Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, has announced during a two-day working visit to the Volta Region.
He gave the assurance during a courtesy call on the Paramount Chief of Akoefe, Togbega Drake Tsigbe IV, at Akoefe Kpodzi in the Ho Central Constituency.
The minister also inspected a newly constructed Rural Telephony Project (RTP) facility at Akoefe Gadza to assess progress in extending telecommunications services to the community.
Major telecommunications investment
Mr. George said the 2,800-site programme represented a significant expansion of the country’s telecommunications infrastructure compared with developments over the previous five years.
The initiative covers new cell towers and upgrades to existing facilities operated by major mobile network operators, including MTN and Telecel.
He further disclosed that the additional network spectrum released over the past two years exceeded the total allocated during the preceding two decades. Spectrum provides the radio-frequency capacity needed to transmit calls and data, and the increased allocation is expected to support faster internet speeds and better network performance.
Collaboration to improve network services
The minister commended traditional leaders and community members for supporting engineers working on telecommunications projects across the region.
He said their advocacy, alongside that of Members of Parliament, had helped prioritise underserved communities.
The Ningo-Prampram MP added that relevant ministries were coordinating telecommunications cable deployment with road construction projects to minimise service disruptions caused by fibre-optic cable cuts.
Mr. George expressed confidence that the investments would deliver more reliable mobile services, particularly in underserved communities. As the facilities become operational towards the end of the year and into early next year, more residents are expected to benefit from improved network coverage and greater access to digital services.