Vodafone Ghana has officially launched a new wireless router, the 'Vodafone Smart Surf', to connect all customers without fibre broadband to fast internet connectivity.

The router selling at ¢399 connects up to 32 users at a time.

George Abban, the Head of Fixed Business, Vodafone Ghana, who joined other officials from the telecom company to launch the device on Wednesday at Ashaiman, said the telecom company would continue to enforce commitment by making life simple for the citizenry.

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, he said, people were now spending their lives together online, with social distancing measures becoming the new standard around the world.

“The web is how we connect with our loved ones in this time of physical isolation. Many people who are online do it through their place of employment, school, or public access locations like libraries and cafes. This means that closing these public areas will drive even more people offline,” he added.

Mr Abban, however, noted that the world was realising the critical importance of the internet; not everyone had access to enjoy its benefits.

“This inequality certainly has real-life consequences. Our pledge at Vodafone is to remove the obstacles and ensure that everyone has access.

“This is what we want to help address with today’s launch event,” he said.

The Smart Surf connectivity is at present only available in Accra, Tema and Takoradi.

Mr Abban, therefore, encouraged customers first to visit the company’s fixed broadband portal fbb.vodafone.com.gh. to confirm if the service was available within their area before purchasing.

“Once we establish that the service is available, proceed to add the device to your shopping cart and follow the process to make payment via Vodafone Cash, VISA or MasterCard. You can also request the product to be delivered to your doorstep or arrange to pick it up from a nearby retail shop.

“Customers can also walk into any of our shops in Accra, Tema and Takoradi to check if the service is available in their area and then make the purchase directly from the shop,” he explained.

The Fixed Business Head said users automatically receive five gigabytes of free data after purchasing a bundle onto the router to enhance their user experience.

Vodafone, he said, was proud to be at the forefront of innovation and had connected over 140,000 homes with fibre broadband, hence called on all to join the new service to have their households and offices powered with internet service.

Mr Abban said customers could purchase any of their data packages from ¢20 (5GB), ¢40 (10GB), ¢90 (25GB), ¢140 (50GB) to ¢200 (100GB) over a period of 30 days.

“Buying a bundle has become even easier as it has been integrated with our secure mobile financial service, Vodafone Cash.

"By simply dialling *900# from your phone, you can choose and subscribe to any of our affordable bundles. Customers can also pay with VISA and MasterCard,” he explained.