Mobile Phones

Ghanaians love their mobile ‘phones. The speed at which they have been adopted across Africa has been phenomenal. Land lines have been almost entirely bypassed in the process. To give some idea of how insignificant land lines are: Koforidua has the same three digit STD code as Asamankese, forty miles away and the individual subscriber numbers have only five digits. Mobile numbers all have ten digits. You can easily believe the often quoted statement that on average, Africans have easier access to a mobile ‘phone than water, whether it is true or not.The technology has spawned an industry in the selling and transfer of ‘units’. Along most roads you will see rows of sometimes adjacent booths selling ‘phone credit. Often they are decorated with strings of used cards waving in the breeze created by passing traffic. The money made from the sale of units must be tiny, but it doesn’t seem to deter people from taking it up. Some businesses combine it with other trades. On my route to work, I see a shoe and credit selling shop. On the ring road in Accra, you can purchase a kit of all the items you need to start you own booth – signs, umbrellas and the stands themselves.The overwhelming popularity of mobile phones has produced problems though. Just as the streets of Accra snarl up with ever increasing traffic, the Ghanaian airwaves are now filled to capacity with calls and SMSs. It is getting harder and more frustrating to successfully connect to other users. There are currently four networks operating in Ghana and a fifth license has been awarded. At one point last year, MTN, the largest operator, was prevented from issuing new SIM cards until it had sorted out some technical problems. It is now issuing cards again but the service still seems to be deteriorating.It hardly seems necessary, but the networks must be amongst the biggest advertisers in Ghana. Their hoardings are vast and their sponsorship is prominent. MTN was the main sponsor of the Africa Cup at the beginning of the year and seemed as if every billboard in Accra was MTN yellow. There is still a twenty foot high Michael Essien on the approach to Koforidua from Accra. I was watching some children looking at an MTN sign the other day. They must have been at the learning to spell stage. They carefully read aloud the letters M,T and N, before chorusing, ‘Everywhere you go’, the company slogan, even though it didn’t appear on the sign.I started by saying that Ghanaians love their ‘phones and like everywhere else they are interested in the latest models and latest new features. I could be uncharitable and say that some Ghanaians love my mobile ‘phone in particular. I have now had one stolen and left another one in a taxi which I didn’t get back. This is my own fault for not being more careful, but as a result, for the last four months I have been using my spare ‘phone. It is a little larger than current models, but it works fine. It calls and texts (not predicatively) and even worked in Timbuktu! The reaction to it from friends and colleagues has been general amusement. My national service friends at the Assembly have suggested that if I left this one in a taxi, the driver would call me and ask me to come and remove it. They say it would also be useful for weight training and Joe has asked to borrow it for a week, for its novelty value. I think the final straw came during a visit to one of the cocoa communities last week. The place had no electricity, no piped water or proper toilets, no school, clinic or any other facilities. As we were preparing to leave the chief looked at me and said, ‘I like your ‘phone’, and somehow I know he was being a little sarcastic.