The Network of Communication Reporters (NCR) has been inaugurated with a call on journalists who write of ICT/Telecoms to gear their writing towards influencing ICT/Telecom policy for the betterment of the citizens. Director of the Kofi Annan ICT Centre of Excellence, Madam Dorothy Gordon who made the call, noted for instance that there were seven biometric systems in Ghana, and it was costing the country lots of money but a good journalistic analysis of the issue could lead to an effective integration that saves cost. NCR is a network of journalists who have specialized in writing on telecoms and ICT, with the ultimate aim of influencing industry policies, and keeping industry players on their toes on behalf of consumers. So far, members of the network have been covering the industry to some extent, but Madam Dorothy Gordon thinks there are still many industry issues that remain untouched by the media. She expressed the hope that the NCR would provide the forum for the journalists to educate themselves on the core industry issues so that they could do more informed articles that have the potential to influence national policy and industry players towards a certain direction. Madam Dorothy Gordon asked the journalists to make it point to learn from the experiences of developed markets by attending international conferences and seminars, and by organizing workshops to educate themselves. “There is no reason why Ghana should not be ahead of the rest of Africa in the development of the ICT and telecoms industry – but a lot of that would depend on how effectively the media report on the industry,” she said. She also urged the journalists not to only write about ICT/telecoms but also make extensive use of industry innovations to reach a wider audience on all platforms – mobile, print, electronic, and the internet. “The internet allows you to own your own TV station on Youtube so you do not have to publish only through your respective media houses but also on an NCR platform on Youtube and other channels,” she said. Director-General of National Information Technology Agency (NITA), who inaugurated the NCR also noted that telecoms/ICT reporting was still fallow but he hopes NCR would champion a consistent coverage and in-depth analysis of industry issues. “We at the ministry have always hoped that media houses would dedicate special pages and airtime slots to ICT/telecom issues. It our hope that the NCR will champion that course and ensure that the industry gets the coverage it deserves,” he said. Chief Executive Officer of the Telecoms Chamber, Mr. Kwaku Addo Sakyi-Addo thinks in seeking the interest of consumers, journalists should also throw the spotlight on challenges facing the telecom operators because “the interest of consumers are operators are not in competition.” He explained that telecom operators invested over five billion dollars in Ghana to give Ghanaian great communication experience but fibre cuts and other operational, regulatory and legal challenges, through no fault of the telcos, affect quality of service, so it is important to point those out in the media as well. “This year alone the telcos have suffered 879 fibre cuts, and one particular telco has suffered over 320 fibre cuts as at September this year,” he said. “These are not problems facing particular telcos but all industry players and we need to find better ways of dealing with them.” Mr. Sakyi-Addo also pointed out that while inflation and tariffs are rising on all utility services, the tariffs on telecom services keep reducing due to competition, and that does not augar well for the future of the industry. The Dean of NCR, Charles Benoni Okine stated that NCR was not established to kowtow to the whims and caprices of industry players but rather to keep players on their toes on behalf of consumers. He urged government to deal with quality of service issues in ways that would ensure that the punitive measures for breaches would directly benefit consumers rather than the regulator taking fines and putting them in their coffers. The inauguration was sponsored by Vodafone, MTN, Tigo, Airtel, Nokia and Alltel.