GHANA:Work with telcos to implement mobile interoperability

Government has been advised to work with telecom operators if the deadline for achieving the mobile interoperability will be met.

Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia during the recent Policy Summit said government is working to ensure the country implement interoperability by November this year.

Speaking to Citi Business News on the matter, Digital Financial Services Consultant, Kwame Oppong said although November may seem like an ambitious timeline it can be achieved if government works hand-in-hand with the telcos.

“Clearly November is an aggressive timeline but there seems to be the commitment from government and so the encouragement is that there should be a continual engagement with industry bearing in mind that it is industry that will make this successful and also while that is happening they also continue to have the responsibility of providing quality services to their customers and whatever innovative product they have in their roadmap that they will be working on so it is certainly a big task and I think only a close collaboration,” he said.

Mr. Oppong stated that a smooth collaboration will allow stakeholders to meet the deadline.

About Interoperability

The system when rolled out will allow consumers transfer money across the various networks in the country.

The Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) has since been tasked to provide the platform for the mobile operators.

It followed a botched agreement with Sibton Switch systems which had quoted 4.6 billion cedis as the cost for carrying out the mandate.

Mobile money interoperability forms part of efforts to drive the government’s financial inclusion agenda.

This is also the third of three pillars that the Vice President believes will drive the NPP’s economic growth agenda.

The two include a robust national database with an effective identification system as well as a national digital address system.

SOURCE:GHANAWEB