Networking know-howJane Bordenave talks to Tony Dolton, chief technical officer for Vodafone in Ghana, about the companyÔÇÖs plans to revolutionise GhanaÔÇÖs communications infrastructure and service.
A household name to many people across the world, Vodafone is an international company with a commitment to high standards. It is the world's leading mobile telecommunications company with a significant presence in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and the United States. In Europe, it is also the fourth largest fixed telecommunications player. In 2008, the company bought GhanaÔÇÖs state telecommunications company, Ghana Telecom, as part of a $900 million (┬ú452 million) initial investment. The brand itself was launched in April 2009, when Ghana Telecom and Onetouch, the cell network brand, both became Vodafone.
Entering into the telecommunications market in Ghana is not without its challenges. Ghana Telecom has been cash starved for some years and has seen significant underinvestment in its network and technology. Vodafone therefore inherited a business that required a significant turnaround. The business comprised fixed, mobile, internet and international services.
In order to address these challenges, Vodafone has implemented a three-step strategy as part of an ongoing annual £200 million investment programme combining voice (both mobile and fixed), high speed broadband internet and a major focus on people.
The first phase is to expand its mobile network coverage by 300 per cent and to substantially improve network quality. ÔÇ£In Ghana, more people have cell phones than have fixed telephone lines,ÔÇØ explains Tony Dolton, VodafoneÔÇÖs chief technical officer in Ghana, ÔÇ£but because mobile network reception and quality can be very patchy, most people have more than one sim card for their phone. Our investment in this area will mean that nearly everyone will have access to a reliable service from Vodafone and will rely on their Vodafone sim.ÔÇØ
The company has recently signed a $120 million (┬ú74 million) contract with Chinese telecom solutions provider Huawei to put the mobile service element of the plan into practice. Initially, this will take the form of improving and expanding VodafoneÔÇÖs mobile network, ensuring that Ghanaians have wide range and reliable coverage. Once this is completed, the company will roll out internet services across Ghana, bringing the country up to date with the latest mobile technology.
The second phase of VodafoneÔÇÖs programme of improvements will be updating and expanding its high speed broadband and fixed voice infrastructure. ÔÇ£The number of homes and businesses with a broadband connection or fixed voice telephone line in Ghana is relatively low,ÔÇØ says Dolton. ÔÇ£This part of our project in Ghana will mean that more people will have access to high speed broadband or a voice telephone in their homes or offices. The current infrastructure in terms of fixed lines is antiquated and largely obsolete. The fixed strategy includes the upgrading and completion of a national fibre optic network covering the whole of Ghana. This investment is due to be completed next year and will substantially increase communications connectivity in the north of the country and should drive significant economic development.ÔÇØ The large capacity network will enable Vodafone to provide wholesale capacity to other firms who wish to use the connectivity.
The third limb of the strategy is people. Vodafone is in the process of a massive organisational change programme. Two thousand staff have left the business in the past year and leavers received training on dealing with change, entrepreneurial and business development skills, CV writing, applying for jobs and interview techniques. Those remaining in the company and the large numbers being recruited by Vodafone (a recent jobs fair in Accra attracted thousands of applicants) are being trained in a wide range of skills, from technology, marketing and IT to all other business areas. Vodafone is also rolling out its ÔÇÿVodafone WayÔÇÖ model in Ghana which is based on ÔÇÿSpeed, Simplicity and TrustÔÇÖ in all aspects of the business, designed to generate customer admiration.
Customers in Ghana are beginning to see this major local business transforming itself into a customer obsessed, innovation hungry, ambitious and competitive force in the Ghanaian market.
Although Vodafone is an international brand, the company is working with the community to ensure that Vodafone in Ghana is still Ghanaian. ÔÇ£Initially, we did have to import staff to ensure a smooth handover when we purchased Ghana Telecom from the Government. However, as a company we are dedicated to localising employment and our commitment to using local labour and efficient people management will be the key to our success,ÔÇØ explains Dolton. Indeed, the company has just been awarded Best Trainer of the Year by Ghana EmployersÔÇÖ Association.
This rapid pace of change in the company is having an impact in the marketplace and moving Ghana to the forefront in some areas. For example, home internet access is not widespread in Ghana (less than three per cent according to official figures). Eighty per cent of internet users in Ghana access the web via internet caf├®s with low connection speeds; and service quality is often very low. Vodafone has already begun work to remedy this and in the capital, Accra, Vodafone subscribers can receive 4MB high speed broadband to their homes, with Vodafone creating a prepay Voice offer similar to that used for mobile. However, probably the most revolutionary development made by the company in this area is the launch of 10 ultra high speed Vodafone internet caf├®s in Accra. ÔÇ£We want to provide the population with options to access broadband and at a quality and standard that far exceeds not only current Ghanaian standards but on a par with the best international standards,ÔÇØ comments Dolton.
ÔÇ£In our caf├®s, customers can access the internet at speeds of 100MB, compared to the 4MB most people in the world are able to access in their home. We have designed the interiors of the buildings to be bright, welcoming and professional, intentionally differentiating them from average cyber caf├®s as part of our overall commitment to quality and customer experience.ÔÇØ
Dolton believes it is this commitment to quality and high standards as well as high speed that will make Vodafone the market leader in Ghana. ÔÇ£We are setting the industry standard and it will be up to other telecommunications companies to match us. We aim to be the leading telecommunications company in the country, through our dedication to expanding our network, delivering products and services that customers want and need as well as world standard customer service.ÔÇØ
VodafoneÔÇÖs investment in Ghana and its plans to revolutionise its telecommunications infrastructure are demonstrative of the companyÔÇÖs continuing commitment to providing its customers with the best quality products and value for money. ÔÇ£The technology we have chosen is the most modern and cost efficient, so that Ghana will not just have a new network but the most modern network in Africa,ÔÇØ says Dolton.
An extraordinary transformation is underway and Vodafone is truly changing lives in GhanaÔÇöits modus operandi there could well become a model for other countries in Africa. In the words of Vodafone, applied to West Africa, ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs your timeÔÇØ.
