Deputy National Youth Organiser of the NDC, Eric Edem Agbana
A deputy National Youth Organiser of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Eric Edem Agbana has urged the government to put measures in place to help reduce the cost of internet in the country.
The youth activist who was speaking on the Morning Update on TV XYZ Tuesday morning indicated that, it was necessary that the Ministry of Communication and Digitalization and the telecommunication companies work together to ensure that cost of the internet is reduced to help youngsters enjoy their online activities.
“On daily basis, young people are complaining that the cost of internet is too high. We have to do something about it,” he told host Eric Ahianyo.
He said with the onset of COVID-19, the youth in the country rely on consumption of high-speed internet technology for their businesses while others use it for online interactive services and learning, adding that it was time the government acts swiftly to that.
“Government has a role to play in expanding communication and internet infrastructure to rural areas,” Agbana added and highlighted the infrastructural investment the erstwhile Mahama administration made in the telecommunication sector.
He mentioned the Eastern Corridor Fibre Optic Backbone Project that was being done by the Mahama government which was intended to extend the national backbone infrastructure to all districts in the country.
The project was to also provide national data centre facilities and connect all public institutions to single shared communication and computing infrastructure in order to facilitate efficient delivery of government services to businesses and others.
Ghana has been ranked the Number One country in Africa with the fastest internet speed. The global internet speed is measured by Speedtest Global Index.
It looked at the internet speed of about 180 countries across the globe.
In the latest ranking from Speedtest Global Index, Ghana is ranked 79th in the world with a high speed of 53.28 mbps.
The speed which is unmatched on the African continent puts Ghana first in Africa ranking followed by South Africa.
The internet speed in South Africa is 47.32 mbps, placing the country 85th in the world and 2nd in Africa.
After Ghana and South Africa, there is Egypt in third with an internet speed of 42.42 mbps.