The Telecommunications Chamber is urging Ghanaians to be guided by the way they use mobile internet data as they stay home in compliance to lockdown directives due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Among other specific appeals, the Chamber said citizens must avoid unnecessary video calls and also limit the amount of data they use within digital rush hours such as 9am and 11am as well as 7pm and 11pm.
In a 10-point guidance document, the Chamber made suggestions for the adherence to what it calls that “ten commandments” for internet or data use within the COVID-19 period.
It indicated that the suggestions are to enable telcos to meet the demands of professional office teams and people undertaking distance learning while they at home.
“Avoid the use of online entertainment services during digital traffic rush-hours ( 9am-11am and 7pm -11pm), to allow telecommunications networks to meet the most demanding needs of communication applications, professional office teamwork and distance learning, which are crucial to a large number of Ghanaian citizens and businesses and critical to the functioning of the entire economy. If you are using service like Netflix, YouTube reduce the quality of the videos from high to standard definition to conserve bandwidth,” the Chamber noted.
Read the full statement below:
MTN Data usage up by nearly 20%
The outbreak of COVID-19 in Ghana has disrupted the operations of many companies with most staff now working from home.
The development, according to mobile telecom giant MTN has led to about 20% increase in data usage on its network.
While the company said it has room to accommodate the growth, it hinted that it may not be able to continue to do so if the growth is exponential.
