SIM boxing in Ghana – The unanswered question.

For many years, people receive international calls which voice quality is very poor. In between the calls, there are also a lot of delays which makes the flow of the conversations boring and disjointed.  There is also another phenomenon which is that, the number calling appears as a local call instead of the international format that is well known to all.

All these happen because of SIM box fraud which has become a major funds sucker to many telecom companies and governments alike all over the world including Ghana, where the crime has assumed an alarming proportion.

For instance, there are reports indicating that mobile operators and governments are losing up to US$150 million US dollars every year to fraudsters who illegally terminate international calls as local calls. This is said to be the new headache that mobile operators are now facing, something that might drag the mobile industry’s developments in Africa.

SIM Box defined

SIM Box fraud is a system by which some unscrupulous persons re-route international calls coming to Ghana through some boxes in which they have inserted local SIM cards, and they terminate the calls using those SIM cards, to make the call appear as a local call.

It can also be described as the unauthorized use of GSM gateways used to bypass the international gateway switch and associated termination fees, which directly results in revenue losses and other problems for mobile operators.

The drain

Many organisations have been in hiding and all they do is to buy thousands of SIM cards from telecom companies. Through the use of their SIM boxes, they are able to offer free or very low cost calls to mobile numbers.

The SIM cards are then used to channel national or international calls away from mobile network operators which are deliver as local calls and this costs operators huge revenues.

In 2009 alone, SIM box fraud denied the state an estimated US$5.8 million in taxes per month and in Kenya, it was reported that the government and operators lose 12 to 15 million minutes worth of revenue to this SIM box fraud. This is approximately US$440,000 per month. In Ghana, the situation is not any better.

The fraudsters have the luxury of offering as low as 0.037 US cents per minute, to terminate calls to our local networks. This they are able to do because they have not paid for licenses; invested in the network infrastructure; and also, they do not pay taxes.

The fraudsters need a SIM box that can store up to about 800 SIM cards, target networks offering cheapest rates and free offers, and a small office in town, to offer these services.

In the case of Ghana, most of the arrests made reveal the use of Airtel SIM cards more than any other network.

The reason is because, Airtel seem to offer the real cheapest call tariffs in the country with a lot of freebies for their customers, and hence an easy target for the fraudsters who seem to be gaining grounds in the country.

Instead of acquiring new equipment to improve their networks, telcos are forced to incur unnecessary expenses in buying software, software licenses, and basically, purchasing a whole application to detect and block these illegal call terminations.

In other instances, they are also forced to employ additional dedicated staff to deal with this malpractice.

In blocking SIM cards detected carrying out the scam is also said to be expensive and it is an additional cost to the players. The cost of producing one SIM card is also quite high and, therefore if a SIM card is not used in generating revenue for the business, then the company incurs a lot of loses.

Government therefore passed the Electronic Communication Amendment Act, Act 786, 2009, which fixed the tariff for inbound international call at 19 cents (33Gp) per minutes, out of which 6 cents is for government and 13 cents goes to the telecom operators.

Some telcos have argued that the 19 cents fixed rate is rather encouraging SIM Box fraud because it is high, compared to the lowest flat local call tariff, which is currently 8.4Gp, so the fraudsters are able to make lots of money even if they charge less than 19 cents and terminate the call at only 8.4Gp.

The telcos therefore argue that reducing international call rates to the level of domestic call rates will automatically drive out SIM box fraudsters like it has in other countries like Nigeria.

But Mr. Peprah said while 19 cents may be an attraction for SIM box fraudsters, the NCA cannot reduce international call rates to the level of domestic call rates just because of the bad guys, adding that the good guys like the telcos in Ghana are now getting an assured 13 cents per minute of international call, and government is also getting an assured 6 cents for national development.

“Through dynamic regulation the country’s telecom industry has grown and become very attractive and huge international traffic is coming in everyday and the country has the right to benefit from that – we are not going to sacrifice that benefit just because some bad guys are stealing from us,” he said.

He noted that since the implementation of the fixed rate, both government and the telcos have raked in millions of dollars, which would have been lost to SIM Box fraudsters, and to persons who also route calls through VOIP (voice over internet protocol) and pay only about 5 cents to telecom operators in Ghana.

“Last year alone we raised almost US$60 million for the state through the fixed rate, and that is why we are firm on the demand for all telcos to keep a record of registered SIM cards so we can trace fraudsters, otherwise the telcos would have to pay the 6 cents if we discover their SIMs in SIM boxes,” he said.

He said it is difficult meeting World Bank requirements to get a loan of US$60 million, so that was good money for Ghana, which the country would not have to pay back at all, much more with interest.

Mr. Peprah said the latest trends indicate the SIM box fraud is going down in Ghana, and the fraudsters are getting busted and some are leaving the shores of the country because the NCA and the telcos have put systems in place to track and flush them out.

“At the end of the day there will still be SIM boxing but we are working to reduce it to the barest minimum so country Ghana can benefit,” he said.

Four Telcos pay GhC950,000 ... Expresso still owes.

FOLLOWING the stern directive from the Minister of Communication, on the telecoms companies to pay up within 24 hours, the GhC1.2 million penalty imposed on them for providing poor quality telecom services to their customers, four of the five companies have fully complied.

MTN, the market leader in the telecoms industry, tiGO, Vodafone and Airtel, all multinationals, are reported to have fully paid a total of GhC950,000, being the penalty imposed on them for providing poor quality services to their subscribers in the country.

The Director-General of the National Communications Authority (NCA), Mr Paarock Vanpercy, who confirmed this exclusively to the Daily Graphic in Accra today, however, fell short of mentioning the fifth industry player which is yet to fully comply with the directive.

"Of the five Operators currently operational, four have paid in full and one has part-paid with the undertaking to complete payment shortly", he said. 

However, independent checks by the paper however, revealed that Expresso, which was fined GhC350,000 has paid part of the amount and has subsequently pleaded for time to enable it settle its penalty in full.

There has been a lot of drama between the sector ministry and the telecoms chamber over the issue since the Daily Graphic broke the news about the penalty fine and the subsequent publications of the amounts paid in compliance with the directive as of last week.

But Mr Vanpercy said; "Regrettably, this is all rather unnecessary drama."

"Quality of Service measurements have been with us for a while now and to play it out in such a standoffish manner, detracts from the relevance of what we are trying to achieve as a regulator", he added.

MTN, which maintained its lead as the country’s biggest mobile phone company with about 10 million subscribers, representing about 48.55 per cent of the market as of the end of September this year, was fined GhC 300,000.

Its poor quality service was noticed in the Upper East and West regions, Greater Accra and Brong Ahafo.

Airtel, the country’s fourth largest telecom operator, suffered the heaviest fine of GH¢350,000.

Expresso, which subscriber base dipped from 244,674 in January to 206,606 in August this year defaulted in its service quality in three regions; Western, Greater Accra and Brong Ahafo.

Vodafone which also defaulted in its service quality in three regions; Western, Greater Accra and Brong Ahafo, was fined Gh¢150,000.

The second largest operator, tiGO which paid earlier before the deadline was issued, was fined Gh¢100,000 being the least, for defaulting in only two regions; Western and the three northern regions.

When the Daily Graphic enquired from the telcos about why they paid the penalties after contesting the technical methodology used by the NCA in arriving at its results, they openly declined comment except to say that, they paid under protest.

The further indicated that they were in negotiations over the matter with the industry regulator.

NCA fines three top again.

THREE leading telecom companies in the country have again been slapped with penalty fines totaling GhC250,000, by the industry regulator, National Communications Authority for what it described as “various Quality of Service (QoS) infractions after a quality of service tests for March, this year.
The companies are MTN, the industry market leader and second place Vodafone and tiGO.

According information posted on the regulator’s website, “MTN was penalized fifty thousand Ghana cedis (GhC50, 000.00) for call setup delays in the Central Region and a further one hundred thousand Ghana cedis (GH¢100,000.00) for call congestion in the Brong Ahafo and Central regions”.

Vodafone which overtook tiGO to become the second biggest telecom company in terms of subscriber market share was on the other hand sanctioned to pay GhC50, 000.00 for Call Setup delays in the Western Region.

Third placed-tiGO was slapped with the same amount as in the case of Vodafone as penalty for signaling congestion in the Brong-Ahafo region.

Sanctions to Airtel on call congestion in the Brong-Ahafo region were suspended pending the completion of their expansion plan in Sunyani.

Meanwhile, the company has up to end of June this year to complete that project.

IN a related development, sanctions according to the NCA, to Expresso on call setup delays were also suspended until July this year for infractions in the Eastern Region when coverage is expected to improve in Koforidua.

The company was also directed to improve coverage in Tarkwa by September 2012.

Barely six months ago, MTN was fined GhC300,000 for poor quality service noticed by the regulator in the Upper East and West regions, Greater Accra and Brong Ahafo.

Airtel, at the time, suffered the heaviest fine of GH¢350,000 while Expresso defaulted in its service quality in three regions; Western, Greater Accra and Brong Ahafo.

Vodafone which also defaulted in its service quality in three regions; Western, Greater Accra and Brong Ahafo, was fined Gh¢150,000.

tiGO was fined Gh¢100,000 being the least, for defaulting in only two regions; Western and the three northern regions.

The Telecoms Chamber at the time had expressed misgivings about the fine saying that it was not deliberate for the operators to offer poor quality services to their customers particularly at a time when competitions among them has heightened.

It blamed the problem on a number of issues including fibre cuts by ongoing construction works in various parts of the country and also the stealing of the fibre cables among many other things.

But the sector Minister, Mr Haruna Iddrisu has described the excuses of the Chamber as untenable and indicated that much as the government was ready to help ameliorate the challenge there was the need for the operators to give their customers value for money.

Telecoms must be resilient to disasters - Panelists

Story; Charles Benoni Okine, Dubai
Recent events as far as disasters, both natural and man-made are concerned took a center stage at the ongoing World Telecommunications Standardisation Assembly (WTSA-12) in Dubai on Thursday.

Against this background panelists on ITU-T Focus Group on Disaster Relief Systems, Network Resilience and Recovery (FG-DR&NRR), have clearly demonstrated the need for telecommunications networks to be resilient to natural and human-induced disasters.

Using various examples across the world including Japan and New York and other parts of the world as key reference points, they argued that the move had become crucial "as they are critical to rescue efforts and restoring normality in the wake of disasters."

The assembly, the first t be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is being attended by more than a thousand participants from about one hundred countries.

Ghana's delegation is being led by the Minister of Communications, Mr Haruna Iddrisu some other directors f the ministry and those from the National Communications Authority (NCA).

Considering the enormity and urgency of the issue, the panelists are to review aspects of network resilience and telecoms infrastructure recovery following disasters and how these requirements can be reflected in ICT standardization later in the next.

According to official sources, the next official meeting of the Focus Group on disaster relief systems, network resiliency and recovery will take place from December 11-13, 2012 in Istanbul, Turkey.

It will be co-hosted by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority, Turkey, and Istanbul Technical University.

A workshop on disaster relief will take place on the first day (11 December), and both the workshop and the Focus Group meeting will be free of charge and open to non-members of ITU.

Ahead of the conclusions by the Group, the government has already initiated moves to launch a national emergency code, similar to the existing 911 in Ghana to allow easy access to the relevant authorities during crime emergency, medical emergency and all other emergencies.

The move is intended to enable members of the public who are found wanting in any situation to call for immediate assistance.

Mr Haruna Iddrisu had disclosed to the Daily Graphic in an interview on the sidelines of day one of the ongoing World Telecommunication Standardisation Assembly (WTSA-12) about the government’s resolve to ensure that telecommunications become an integral part of the people to help save them during disasters.

He made reference to the recent Melcom disaster which he said is a wake up all for all to ensure that the use of mobile phones become part of human endeavors.

"Recent development in Ghana must awaken everybody to accept that mobile telephony is no more a luxury," he said.
In addition, the panel will showcase ICTs supporting disaster relief for individuals to, for instance, enable victims to notify next of kin, and disaster relief guidance such as to guide those affected to evacuation shelters or hospitals.

According o the itenary drawn, the opening remarks will be delivered by Mr Hideo Fuseda, Director, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Japan.

Mr Noriyuki Araki, Chairman of ITU-T Focus Group on disaster relief systems, network resiliency and recovery, will share experiences from the Great East Japan Earthquake and introduce recent R&D activities on technologies for network resilience and recovery.

Mr Leo Lehmann, a Focus Group Vice-chairman, will give an overview of related work in ITU and other organizations.

ITU-T Focus Group on Disaster Relief Systems, Network Resilience and Recovery (FG-DR&NRR) was established by the ITU-T TSAG meeting in Geneva, in January 2012.

The Terms of Reference of the Focus Group are to among other things, conduct the work on disaster relief systems/applications, network resilience and recovery aiming at: identifying requirements for disaster relief and network resilience and familiarize the ITU-T and standardization communities with those requirements.

It is also identifying existing standards and existing work that are related to the requirements mentioned above; identifying any additional standards that may need to be developed and identifying future work items for specific ITU-T Study groups and related actions; and encouraging collaboration among ITU-T Study Groups as well as organizations and communities.

The Focus Group will collaborate with worldwide relevant communities such as research institutes, forums, academia and including other SDOs and consortia.

The President’s tablet – Lessons for all

Almost everybody is using one type of ordinary phone or smartphone or the other. In this piece, Charles Benoni Okine reveals which 'big shot' among many in Ghana is always glued to his smartphone and why we all need emulate his example.

Unlike many other top ranks in government and elsewhere, President John Dramani Mahama, seem to be the only personality who is visibly seen using a tablet in public.

He reads his speech most of the time from the tablet. When he speaks ex-tempo, he reads the jotted points from his tablet.

The President is quick to Google for information from his tablet anywhere he finds himself and as a result, he is able to react to issues and make comparisms using figures among others to buttress a point.

This trait about the President, the only one so far to be visibly ICT savvy leaves no doubt about his credentials when it comes to issues of communication.

During his tenure as Minister of Communications, Mr Mahama also served as the Chairman of the National Communications Authority, in which capacity he played a key role in stabilising Ghana's telecommunications sector after it was deregulated in 1997.

From 2001 to 2004, Mahama served as the Minority Parliamentary Spokesman for Communications. In 2002, he was appointed the Director of Communications for the NDC.

What has been described as the Digital Divide, or the digital split, is a social issue referring to the differing amount of information between those who have access to the Internet (especially broadband access) and those who do not have access.

According to Internet World Stats, the term became popular among concerned parties, such as scholars, policy makers, and advocacy groups, in the late 1990s.

But broadly speaking, the difference is not necessarily determined by the access to the Internet, but by access to ICT (Information and Communications Technologies) and to Media that the different segments of society can use.

With regards to the Internet, the access is only one aspect and the other factors such as the quality of connection and related services are also considered. Today the most discussed issue is the availability of the access at an affordable cost and quality.

The problem is often discussed in an international context, indicating certain countries are far more equipped than other developing countries to exploit the benefits from the rapidly expanding Internet. The digital divide is not indeed a clear single gap which divides a society into two groups.

Researchers report that disadvantage can take such forms as lower-performance computers, lower-quality or high price connections (that is narrowband or dialup connection), difficulty of obtaining technical assistance, and lower access to subscription-based contents.

Cellphones

When the use of the pager faded, and then came the cellphones which were only used to receive calls until it transformed for users to be able to do other things.

Today, not only is the cell phone a user’s constant companion; it is capable of voice, text, video, email with attachments, and applications to connect one to the corporate environment from almost anywhere.

But that is still not enough when it comes to a phone. A phone is limited in size and usability for complex tasks. But, there’s a solution and that is simply a tablet computer.

The magic of a tablet.

The tablet computer has come in to revolutionise the entire system because one is chained to the job. The tablet makes people available any day, any hour any year with a device that can deliver what is needed for almost as long as one can need it with no wired tethers.

It makes for very easy and free to roam about as long as one either has a WiFi or cellular connection within reach of your location.

For several years, the demand for smartphones has outpaced the rest of the mobile phone market. According to a 2012 survey, around half of the U.S. mobile consumers own smartphones and could account around 70 per cent of all U.S. mobile devices by 2013.

In the 25–34 age range smartphone ownership is reported to be at 62 per cent. NPD Group reports that the share of handset sales that were smartphones in the third quarter, 2011 reached 59 per cent for consumers 18 and over in the U.S.

The European mobile market, as measured by active subscribers of the top 50 networks is 860 million. According to an Olswang report in early 2011, the rate of smartphone adoption is accelerating: as of March 2011 22 per cent of UK consumers had a smartphone, with this percentage rising to 31 per cent amongst 24- to 35-year-olds.

In China, smartphones represented more than half (51 per cent) of handset shipments in the second quarter of 2012.

The statistics in Ghana are not very clear but it is obvious that the taste for smartphones in the country is high and at least from hindsight, one out of every 10 people in the cities has one.

Bridging the Gap
According to the Internet World Stats, the idea that some information and communication technologies are vital to quality civic life is not new. Some suggest that the Internet and other ICTs are somehow transforming society, improving people’s mutual understanding, eliminating power differentials, realizing a truly free and democratic world society, and other benefits.

In many countries, access to the telephone system is considered such a vital element that governments implement various policies to offer affordable telephone service. Unfortunately some countries lack sufficient telephone lines.

Literacy is arguably another such element, although it is not related to any new technologies or latest technological devices.

The Way Forward.

There are presently, more than 21 million phone service subscribers in the country. They get their services from the six multinational companies, Glo, MTN, tiGO, Vodafone, Airtel and Expresso, most of which have nationwide coverage.

The President has demonstrated beyond doubt that ICT works and makes things easy, fancy and also makes one knowledgeable while helping to transform lives.

Many have smartphones which they use for fun but there is more to it.

A local ICT company, rlg, has entered into an agreement with Microsoft to enable it have certified Windows on all its computers and smartphones and that is another opportunity to explore.

It is a very widely shared view in many societies that being literate is essential to one's career; to self-guided learning; to political participation; and to Internet usage.

Ghana’s transition to digital TV positive but …

Ghana is ambitiously working towards migrating from analogue to digital terrestrial television by the close of the 2014, a year ahead of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) deadline a year after. Courtesy Multichoice Ghana, Charles Benoni Okine reports from Johannesburg on the way forward.

A Television Studio Consultant at Multichoice Africa, Mr Angus M. Clarke, has lauded efforts by the Ghana government to migrate from analogue to digital terrestrial television (DTT) as a positive move but cautioned it to follow its implementation plan religiously to avoid any hitches.

“They must have a big plan of how to roll out that process because that is very key to the success of that migration and to be able to meet the deadline as set by the world body”, he said.

Mr Clarke gave the advice in an exclusive interview with the Graphic Business at the headquarters of Multichoice in Johannesburg.

It was shortly after the Minister of Communications, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, together with his delegation, has toured some of the facilities of Multichoice as part of a plan to acquaint himself with the requirements of DTT.

Mr Clarke said one analogue takes a lot of bandwidth but the DTT can take as many as 16 channels which mean that the players in the industry must be ready to increase their content as well as upgrade existing ones to make it exciting and appealing to viewers.

“How much content do the television stations have in Ghana because they will have the capacity to put out a lot of content and programming over the time space to be created through DTT”, he said.

He also raised the delicate issue about set-up boxes and noted that the boxes have to be heavily subsidized to enable majority of the people who do not want to watch the national television to have access to their choice.

Mr Clarke also noted that at the start of the migration, the national broadcaster must conduct a thorough research to know the standards for the set-up boxes to enable them to meet at least the minimum standard as it pertains to each region.

“By now they should have decided on the protocols and type of boxes and they must be manufactured with the size of the population in mind and the targeted people who will be given the boxes”, he added.

Mr Clarke said the dstv holders already have the national broadcaster on it and it is free to air but those who want other stations and channels must have their set-up boxes.

Benefits of migration.

The migration will bring about; Higher Spectrum Efficiency as shown; Better Picture quality; Clearer Sound (CD quality audio); More Stations and therefore more choice; More Interactivity (including electronic programming guides (EPG), games, among others things.

Why the migration

The migration has become necessary to enable Ghana to; Comply with and adopt the tenets of the International Telecommunications  Union (ITU) Conference in Geneva in the year 2006 (GE-06) Agreement; To rapidly adopt spectrum efficient methods in the management of the scarce RF spectrum; To broaden its utility as a resource in the interest and benefit of stakeholders; To prevent dumping of obsolete analogue TV equipment into the country to protect both investors and consumers; To enhance the quality and experience of TV viewers in Ghana

Role of Network Operator / Signal Distributor

According to a report on the implementation of the migration process, the various network operators and signal distributors will have to deal with issues of carriage of the signal from source to distribution site; distribution of the signal to designated transmission sites; broadcast of the signal within the service area

Their Obligations

They are supposed to provide services to broadcasters on an equitable, reasonable, non-preferential and non-discriminatory basis; Adhere to license conditions as provided by the Regulator; Provide quality delivery of broadcasting services as per contract between the signal distributor and the broadcaster; Ensure that the digital transmission coverage is similar to or better than the existing analogue transmission coverage; Regularly apprise the Regulator on (a regular basis, on) the utilization of frequency channels and broadcasters’ database; Avail all the network configurations to the regulator; Set tariffs  commensurate to services provided.

In a related development, Mr Iddrisu said Ghana’s migration from the analogue to the digital terrestrial television system will begin from October 1, 2014, to enable the country to meet a deadline of the end of 2014.

Consequently, he said a Chinese company, after a competitive bidding process, has been selected to undertake the digital migration process which involves design and construction of “a reliable cost effective, energy efficient infrastructure system that will lead to improvement in picture quality and make us benefit from spectrum dividend at a total cost of $95 million”.

The General Manager of Multichoice Ghana, Mr Cecil Sunkwa-Mills also described the determination of the government to migrate the country as a laudable idea and one which will be of enormous benefit to the people.

He said there will be free spectrum space that could be used for other relevant purposes that will benefit the state.

Mr Sunkwa-Mills said Multichoice was ready to offer the government any assistance to ensure that the process is carried out without any hitches.

Towards a free and fair elections … Role of social media

Peace seems to be on the lips of every Ghanaian and foreigners alike as the countdown towards this year’s general elections in December is on. Charles Benoni Okine writes on how social can ensure make that happen.

Social media has, in recent times become one of the major sources through which people reach each other. All day and night, people use social media to send information to friends, locate old friends, market their products and others use it as a devotional tool to reach people with the word of God.

Social media includes web- and mobile-based technologies which are used to turn communication into interactive dialogue among organizations, communities, and individuals.

According to socialbakers, a popular website on the internet, Facebook monitoring also helps to improve people’s business and social media marketing strategy in every country.

Currently, there are 1,411,160 Facebook users in the Ghana, which makes it 73rd in the ranking of all Facebook statistics by Country. The total cellular/mobile voice subscriber base in Ghana as at July, 2012 stood at 23,658,697 in July as against 23,370,773 in June, according to the national Communications Authority (NCA).

In terms of penetration, penetration in Ghana is 5.80 per cent compared to the country's population and 108.80 per cent in relation to number of Internet users. The total number of FB users in Ghana is reaching 1,411,160 and grew by more than 209440 in the last 6 months.

Social media has become one of the most effective ways of communication and attracts a multitude of people particularly the youth. Realising the impact social media is making in the lives of the youth, some of the older ones are also beginning to wise up to also use social media.

Get onto Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn among others and churches, Night Clubs, shops and any other business are using social media to reach to more people.

 In Ghana, political parties are not sparing this unique platform as all the Presidential candidates can now be found on Facebook and Twitter  in particular to send their messages and receive positive feedback.
In other advanced democracies, political parties have used social media not only to spread their political ideology but to raise fund to campaign.

Why we need social media

Since 1992 when Ghana adopted the fourth republican constitutions, the Electoral Commission (EC) has always come under severe fire from political parties, notably, those in opposition. They complain that the EC has allowed itself to be used by the ruling party to manipulate figures in the strong room to win the elections.

But in one of such rebuttals, the most celebrated Chairman of an electoral commission in Ghana, Mr Afari Gyan, has maintained that it is not possible for any political party to manipulate figures when the results have been submitted to the EC headquarters from the various constituencies.

He claims in one of his famous statements that a party can only manipulate figures at the polling station level and, therefore, always called for vigilance by all voters to ensure that that fraudulent act does not happen.

This assertion has provided the parties and the electorate with the vim to ensure that they are very well represented at every polling station to avoid any such manipulation of figures.

With a few months to go, he continues to make that call. “Be vigilant at the pooling station”.

How social media can help

A mentioned earlier, the total cellular/mobile voice subscriber base in Ghana as at July, 2012 stood at 23,658,697 in July as against 23,370,773 in June. It is expected that this figure will hit the 24 million mark and beyond by Election Day.

This means that at least every electorate (13 million according to the EC) has a phone. Phones in recent times have cameras no matter how small or make, can take pictures while others can take both still pictures and video.

Without mischief, there are a number of things people can do with their phones to assist the process to be smooth and be one without violence in any form.

First, the electorate can take photos of the election process at polling stations and even record the declaration of the results mentioned for each party and put them on social media for the world, that is, their friends within Ghana and abroad to monitor the process. This can also be used to compare against the figures as they will be released at the constituency collation level and also at the national level.

Second, the electorate can use the power of their phones to record any violent acts or suspicious activities at every polling station or the collation center and send them on Facebook or Twit them for the world to see.

Third, the phones can also be used to make calls to radio and television stations to report violent acts that can mar the beauty of the elections and cause mayhem. Most of the television and radio stations are also on social media and, once verified, can post them online.

It is necessary to note that the world keenly follows Ghana’s elections and therefore, the international radio will also be interested in such videos to put on their platform. It is happening in Syria and it was what helped spark the uprising in Tuninsia, Egypt and the other Arab countries.

According to a Nigerian lecturer at the African University College of Communications, Mr Ogo Uchekuchu, social media was one of the means by which Nigeria was for the first time, able to have a peaceful and generally free and fair election.

“We twit and Facebook the figures mentioned from polling station to the other and send the messages to the electoral commission; we ask questions and give information about happenings all over and that is why the rigging was highly minimized”, he said

To him, if Nigeria made it, Ghana will have no excuse to even learn from that and do better.

 Fortunately for Ghana, almost all the six telecom operators in the country have nationwide coverage and, therefore, in every corner, people who care can make calls, send messages, posts pictures among others to get the right thing done during the elections.

Should the electorate capitalize on this social media platform, the soo called machomen hired by some of the political parties will have no job to do because their intimidation tactics would be found out and shamed.

Broadband to reach rural areas – to facilitate economic activity

Telecom companies in the country are largely reluctant to expand broadband services to the rural areas of the country. Charles Benoni Okine & Rita Adongo write on government resolve to reverse the trend.

The Government has negotiated for the release a US$150 million loan facility from the Chinese Government for the expansion of broad band services to all parts of the country.

The project would be undertaken by Huawei Technologies Company Limited from China is to boost business activity in that part of the country.

 The Minister for Communications, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, dropped the hint at the opening of the second Ghana Telecom Summit in Accra.

“It is the resolve of the government to see to the extension of broadband services in the rural parts of the country and that is why we have gone for that money to undertake such a project”, he said.

Presently, broadband penetration in the country is put tentatively at about 10 per cent following the landing of the Glo One and Main One fiber optic cables in the country. There already existed Sat 3 which is presently owned by Vodafone.

With these, the total installed capacity is estimated at more than one trillion terabytes, a capacity huge enough to reach every part of the country to facilitate economic activities.

Many businesses, particularly the banks and other financial institutions are unable to extend services that are technologically based such as Automated Teller machines among other there because of there is no available service.

Internet and mobile banking has also become the order of the day but the rural people are unable to enjoy such services and are being made to continuously rely on the same traditional banking style where a customer has to walk to the bank to manually fill a form to withdraw cash, even the smallest amount.

Other businesses which rely on less paper and had to locate in the hinterlands to do business are also denied the opportunity and, therefore, the gap between the rural and urban centers continues to widen.

Presently, all institutions are concentrated in Accra and making the city choke with huge levels of traffic.

There are attempts to find out the correlation between the non-availability of broadband service in the rural areas and the impact on productivity.

But Mr Iddrisu said the government has recognized the economic lose to the state, hence its resolve to find the funds to make that service available to the rural areas of the country which seem to be deprived of good things.

He said the government has also announced tax breaks for telecom companies that push deep into the rural areas with their services.

But, the telecom companies have complained about the huge investments required in doing so and the level of returns on their investments.

Mr Iddrisu bemoaned the fact that the rate of internet penetration in country was still abysmally low as compared to the country’s Western counterparts although it was one of the best in the sub region.

He added that it was time as a country to gradually walk on to a paperless era with the presence of e-applications hence the need for an expansion and improvement in the broad band service of the country.

 “How do we reach the age where we also use e-applications such as e-banking, e-health and e-educations without an effective broadband?” he asked and noted that until the resolve is made, there will be no breakthrough.

Economic broadband impacts of broadband.

 Meanwhile with the proliferation of broadband connections worldwide, the Internet is increasingly described as being always on and with a minimum speed of 256 kbps. This broadband Internet moves well beyond traditional dial-up and mid-speed Internet (e.g., less than 256 kbps) in terms of the applications it supports and the value it offers.

While dial-up Internet offers some additional value over telephone communication, in terms of basic Internet browsing, e-mail, and simple document transmission, most agree that the Internet’s full capacity is only realized through broadband Internet that allows the use of multiple ICT applications and services.

Assessing the economic benefits and impact of broadband Internet is fundamentally different to assessing the impact of telephone communications, for the following two reasons:

First, a broadband Internet connection does not in itself provide any value or service, thus contrasting with a traditional telephone connection that provides an instant use and benefit through immediate and direct verbal communication (saving travel costs and time of alternative means to communicate). Only the use of Internet services and applications made possible through a broadband connection create benefits for the user, such as remote network access, VoIP services, video-conferencing, and online-banking among others.

Second, the realization of benefits from broadband for a country is strongly dependent on overall conditions such as the: regulatory framework (example; security for e-commerce transactions, laws for on-line banking, among other things); business environment such as computer penetration, ability to develop skills, capacity for organizational change; supporting infrastructure in terms of reliability and electricity; and ICT literacy among the population, among others.

Like electricity, ICT may be considered a general purpose technology, which is characterized through its pervasiveness throughout the economy and society, its constant evolution and improvement, and its capacity to spawn new innovations.

Measuring economic benefits of broadband

Due to broadband Internet’s multitude of applications and its recent national spread in certain markets only (in many developing countries it is limited to the main urban areas only), it is more challenging to measure its economic impact than traditional telephony. As a consequence, the situation for measuring the impact of broadband can be summarized as follows:

• It is still in a nascent stage – the first attempts at gathering empirical evidence were made in 2003 in Ontario, Canada and in 2005 with national scale data from the United States
• It is often restricted to the developed and most advanced nations; and
• There is little quantifiable proof and no internationally comparable data of value.

Also, in developed countries the impact of broadband is measured at the individual subscriber level, while most developing countries are aiming at providing broadband at a community level.

A method to measure the benefits from services used via a broadband connection in the developed world is to make the simple assumption that the direct benefit must be higher than the cost of the broadband connection to the subscriber, otherwise they would not subscribe. The assumption is that the subscriber has conducted a personal (or household) cost/benefit analysis and has determined that the net benefit outweighs the cost. This is a reasonable assumption since the market is the final arbiter of value, and demand is the indicator of benefit.

Gov’t wages war of SIM Box fraud

THE Communications Minister, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, has expressed the government’s commitment to relentlessly fight the menace of Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) Box fraud which is denying the state and telecom operators several millions of dollars.

“We have made some inroads into that resolve which has resulted in the arrest and prosecution of some people but the fight continues relentlessly”, he told the Daily Graphic shortly after another arrest was effect of a syndicate operating from their base in Oregon, United States of America (USA).

Collaboration between the Anti-Fraud Unit of the National Telecommunications Authority (NCA), the telecom service provider, and the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service led to the busting of six members of a SIM Box syndicate operating in the United States (US) and Accra.

The members of the syndicate, with their partners in the State of Oregon, are said to have carried out their illegal activities in the past eight months, making a profit of GH¢7.2 million.

Those arrested were Kofi Osei, 26; Eugene Parker, 27; Richard Kwakye, 28; Kingsley Lartey, 29; Kenneth Kpetsigo, 25, and Mawuli Ahiekpor, 30.

 A US-based company, UPM Telecom, is said to be the brain behind the syndicate, as it hosts a SIM server in the US, while the six host their clients’ servers from their bedrooms and other strategic locations in Ghana.

‘SIM box’ fraud takes place when individuals or organisations buy thousands of SIM cards offering free or low cost calls to mobile numbers. The SIM cards are then used to channel national or international calls away from mobile network operators and deliver them as local calls, costing operators revenues.

African Mobile Operators are said to be under serious threat from SIM box fraud as mobile networks and government regulators are facing a staggering annual revenue losses from ‘GSM Gateway’ or ‘SIM box’ fraud.

Mr Iddrisu admitted that the people behind the fraud used sophisticated equipment to perpetrate their crime but gave the assurance “through the efforts of the anti SIM Box Fraud and the security agencies, we will be able to apprehend the suspects to make them face the full rigours of the law”.

Asked what has been done to those earlier arrested, he responded that, while some of the cases were still pending in court, others have been found guilty and jailed.

The Communications Minister called for more collaboration between the telcos and the regulator of the industry to ensure that those behind the criminal act were brought to book.

Global campaign against regulation of internet reaches Ghana.

A major global campaign against attempts by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to regulate the usage of the Internet has reached Accra with a call on governments of the continent to reject any proposals to that effect.

According to them, regulations on the usage of the Internet has to potency to slow economic progress, raise costs on users who can least afford them as well as limit its access and usage in developing countries.

The campaign comes on the sidelines of 3rd Africa Regional Preparatory Meeting for the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) currently underway in Accra.

The meeting, which is being attended by telecoms regulators, ministers of communications and telecoms experts across the African continent, is aimed at reaching a common consensus for presentation at the upcoming World Conference on International Telecommunications in December 2012 (WCTI-12) in Dubai.

Speaking at a breakfast session in Accra today, Dr Rohan Samarajiva, Founding Chair and Chief Executive of Officer of LIRNEasia, an ICT policy and regulation think tank based in Sri Lanka, said regulating the Internet will “artificially raise the cost of network interconnection, content delivery and quality of service”.

He said these cost would ultimately be passed on to those least able to afford them or would result in exclusion from the Internet economy.

“The door would be opened for the creation of top-down, inflexible international regulatory regime for the Internet, much in conflict with the current framework that has enabled growth in access, innovation, entrepreneurship and economic activity”, Dr Samarajiva added.

Some countries and interests have made proposals that, if implemented, would grant the ITU a part of the UN authority to regulate aspects of the Internet, including the ability to regulate content and dictate the terms of private commercial agreements.

Among the most troubling proposals submitted to the ITU to prepare for the WCIT-12 are the contribution from European Telecommunications Network (ETNO) which includes state-owned companies such as Telecom Italia and Deutsche Telekom and the African Region contributions by Egypt.

ENTO wants the ITU to designate Internet content providers as ‘call originators’ and subject them to what has been described by the campaigners as “ sending party networks pays” rule that would allow telecommunications operators to charge them rates they believe are proportionate with the bandwidth their content consumes.

This change, it is believed, would have enormous implications for the expansion of the digital economy in the developing world, particularly African countries such as Ghana.

Dr Samarajiva said Africa Regional proposal aims to expand international internet regulation definitions to encompass the larger ecosystems of the digital economy, reversing the liberalized policies currently in place that have delivered affordable and increased connectivity to some of the world’s most remote peoples and places.

Dr Samarajiva used Ghana as a test case and said the usage of the Internet is fast growing  indicating that between 2010 and 2011 alone, internet penetration according to ITU reports reveal a almost 50 per cent growth from 5.2 per cent to 10 per cent.

This, he said has been fueled by attractive content and declining Internet prices that put on-line access within the reach of more Ghanaian consumers.

“Ghana is reflective of the broader growth of the Internet in the developing world” he said and noted that Internet usage in the developing world has exploded in recent years; growing from 9.4 per cent Internet users (per 100 inhabitants) in 2006, up to 26.3 in 2011”, he said adding that; “although significant work still remains to be done, these are very positive trends”.

The Minister of Communications, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, said the usage of the Internet has become an integral part of human endeavor and wondered if it was not time to make it a human rights issue.

He said urged participants at the meeting to ensure that those regulations that do not favour the continent and the developing nations are amended while they push for those that have helped to remain.

Photo: Dr Samarajiva (2nd right) making his point during the meeting. He is flanked by Mr Iddrisu (2nd left). Picture by Charles Benoni Okine