Ghana’s communication minister, Haruna Iddrisu, has inaugurated 10 mobile communication towers in rural areas of the country, in a bid to enable first-time connectivity in those communities.

According to a press statement, the project is an initiative between network solutions provider, K-NET, and partners Altobridge, Ameresco Solar, and iDirect to provide service on the Tigo network, and reduce the total costs of ownership by up to 65%.

This means rural communities with relatively low population densities of less than 1,500 people may now be served profitably by the mobile network operators.

The partnership also includes the provision of a 2G or 3G Base Station Subsystem by Altobridge, the provision of a Solar Power Solution by Ameresco Solar, and the provision of satellite communication equipment by iDirect, together with the mobile network operator Tigo.

Reports further show that each communication tower can serve an area of up to 300 squared kilometres, potentially covering several townships. Currently 143, 000 square kilometres, or 60% of the land area, and 5 million of Ghana’s 25 million population have no mobile coverage, according to the company.

Michael Darcy, chief executive officer, K-NET said, “K-NET is proud to be working with GIFEC, Tigo and its other partners to bring mobile services to rural communities such as Botoku, to enrich the quality of life for individuals and to enable small businesses to operate more efficiently.”