Residents of the Keta Municipality in the Volta Region have lamented poor mobile network connectivity, saying it is affecting business activities and productivity in the area.
The residents, including traders, mobile money vendors, and other service providers, complained of frequent call failures, wasted airtime, and slow transaction processes.
Mr Gabriel Sokpoli, a resident of Vui, a suburb of Keta, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the situation had become a major daily challenge, especially for people who depend on mobile phones to communicate with customers and relatives.
“Many business operators in the Municipality are worried about the unreliable network, which is disrupting sales and delaying transactions,” he said.
“Our phone calls often fail to connect. Messages and mobile money confirmations take too long to arrive. This leaves many customers frustrated, especially when deals and transactions collapse,” he added.
Mr Sokpoli, who is also a mobile money vendor, explained that the poor network had reduced productivity and negatively affected daily income.
He said customers often spent long periods attempting transactions, only for the network to fail midway, leading to wasted airtime and loss of business opportunities.
He noted that the problem worsened during peak business hours, when many people tried to make calls or send money at the same time.
The unstable network service, he said, had made it difficult to serve customers efficiently, particularly in busy market centres and commercial areas.
“Some of my colleague vendors have complained that repeated network failures make it hard to reconcile transactions at the end of the day. The delays create confusion between customers and agents, and sometimes customers have to be attended to several times before a transaction is successful,” he said.
Ms Perpetual Ekua Doku, another resident, said the poor connectivity was also affecting social and emergency communication.
She explained that during urgent situations, calls often failed to go through, creating anxiety and inconvenience for families and institutions.
She noted that the situation had affected the ongoing Municipal National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) registration exercise, which relies heavily on stable internet access.
According to her, the exercise had been slowed down by poor connectivity, resulting in longer waiting times and interruptions in service delivery.
She added that the National Identification Authority (NIA) was facing similar challenges, as network instability continued to disrupt biometric registration processes.
Applicants, she said, had reported repeated delays, failed data uploads, and disruptions that forced them to return on another day.
The situation, according to some officials, is putting pressure on already stretched service points and creating backlogs in public registration exercises.
They warned that if urgent steps were not taken, the situation could discourage residents from completing essential administrative processes.
Some university and nursing training students also told the GNA that they faced challenges in registering for courses and checking results due to unreliable internet connectivity.
They appealed to the relevant authorities to intervene urgently.
Residents and business operators have therefore called on the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation to take immediate steps to improve network service quality in Keta and surrounding communities.
They believe stronger network coverage would support local businesses, enhance digital public services, and reduce financial losses.
Meanwhile, many residents remain frustrated as they continue to grapple with dropped calls, failed transactions, and slow internet connectivity, which they described as a widespread national challenge.
Source: GNA
