Ghana To Benefit from Google’s Project Link Broadband Service

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Google Ghana Country Manager, Estelle Akorfio-Sowah | Photo Credit: Mac-Jordan Degadjor[/caption]

Internet has almost always been an issue for subscribers in Ghana; students, businesses, schools, individuals. Though service providers promise huge bandwidths, even 4G providers are not as fast as they could be. Data penetration numbers have seen a rise due to the growing interest in e-commerce, the influx of smartphones, etc.

Google’s Project Link Service will work with local Internet service providers (ISPs) and mobile network operators (MNOs) to bring fast, reliable broadband to more people in Ghana. The main highlight of the project is the building of more than 1,200 kilometers of infrastructure to connect local ISPs and MNOs to metro-area fiber networks. Undersea cables only reach the coastal areas, and this makes getting reliable, fast internet access in land-locked areas a hassle.

This gives business, which are mostly spread beyond the coast areas, almost equal access to fast, reliable internet. Working with already existing Telecommunications companies and ISPs will help Project Link reach a lot more Ghanaians.

The launch in Ghana was preceded by its success in Uganda, as Google worked with the Research and Education Network of Uganda (RENU) to provider faster reliable internet for universities and students in the East African country. Ghana is the first West-African country to benefit from Project Link.

Project Link has already started construction in Accra, and Tema; Kumasi will be next on the project site list.

“There’s a lot of work ahead, but we look forward to working with local providers to ensure that Ghana’s local infrastructure can help its people and businesses participate fully on the Web and be inspired by what they can do online.”, Estelle Akorfio-Sowah, Country Manager for Google Ghana added.

Per the last record of data subscription by the National Commnunication Authority in Ghana, there’s a 58.90% mobile data penetration. Though its hard to believe this, such records prove that there’s an opportunity developers of creative online content to reach more people in Ghana.

Pushing for better infrastructure in Africa has been the talk of some tech giants. As Facebook launched Interneet.org some months ago in Accra, and Microsoft continues to support DEMO Africa and other tech initiatives, concerns for better connectivity could give rise to a new wave of mobile data penetration across the continent.

Google Ghana has launched Project Link, a service which will bring 1200+ km of fiber optic networks to mobile subscribers in Ghana.