The Board Chairman of Millicom Ghana Limited, operators of the tiGo network, Tismark Inja, has lashed out at the National Communication Authority (NCA) for instituting a regulatory regime that does not support fairness and transparency in the telecom sector. He said the NCA, the national telecom regulator, has continuously flouted agreements that have been reached between operators and the regulator in an effort to protect the integrity of the telecom market. He said, in 2003, Millicom Ghana wanted to migrate from the analogue system it was operating since pioneering mobile networks in Ghana a couple of decades ago, but the NCA unduly delayed them. "It is important for government to ensure equity and transparency for all, as well as equal access to policy to ensure fairness," he said. Mr. Inja made the accusations at the inauguration of an ultramodern head office complex of the company in Accra and explained that in 2004 telecom operators agreed with the regulator they should be consulted before new operators are allowed into the sector, but the NCA has since bypassed them to licence new entrants. "The regulator has in the past not played fair towards some operators, including tigo, and I appeal to government to bring its wealth of understanding about the industry to bear on its operations to ensure sanity and fairness in the regulatory environment," he said. The accusations of the tigo boss come barely a year after members of the Ghana Internet Service Providers Association (GISPA) also accused the telecom regulator of similar treatment, which they said had pushed some of them to resort to court actions to address their grievances. He said: "The experience that we have faced in our operations should not be repeated - be it authorisation, spectrum or sub-marine cables," adding "to ensure stability in the telecom market, government must adhere to the agreement reached in 2004." Mr. Inja's concerns are in line with similar grievances industry players have said were troubling the telecom industry, which must be addressed to protect a market that gives government a greater part of its domestic revenue. The Vice President John Mahama on his part urged the NCA to focus on ensuring quality of service and set a clear quality of service standard to ensure fair competition. "Now we have a discerning market and quality of service must be pursued. Previously, government was interested in teledensity and the number of telephone lines, but quality of service must be pushed," he said. Ghana's population is currently estimated at 25 million and consistent increases in the mobile subscription figures has made the telecom industry one of the most exciting sectors in the country. Competition in the telecommunication industry has surged following the acquisition of mobile operating licenses by Kuwaiti Company, Zain Ghana Limited, and Nigerian-based Globacom over the past two years. This brings the number of mobile operators to six, recording a total teledensity of about 67 percent. Source: B&FT/Ghana