Thursday, September 24, 2009

The Power of the Mobile Phone






So how much are we paying for talking? It used to be free abi? In the days of old, the one who shouted loudest could carry their message across vast distances. Technology has made it possible for even a whisper to travel across the oceans and for such a fantastic service you must pay. Nothing is free - you gotta pay. The stuff that was being taken for free are now being paid with hard cash. You can still get up and walk great distances in search of a river and drink of its water to quench your thirst or you can buy bottled or sachet water a few meters from your house. The air we breath is being taken for granted but in the near future we will be paying hard cash to breath processed air which will improve our health - but more of that at a later time. For now, I want to focus on how much I am being charged for talking. It is interesting to observe that the mobile sector is becoming more competitive so I expect that I can save some few cedis and still enjoy my calls.

Ghana now has Vodafone, MTN, Kasapa, Tigo and Zain. I have heard of Glo all over the place but they have not commenced operations yet. Ghanaians are now being spoiled with choice when it comes to mobile phone operators.

Gone are the days when it was a privilege to receive a call even on a land line. The transition was then made to the use of mobile phones by the chosen few who could afford the huge cost of the starter pack and the handset itself. I remember people had to queue from dawn to dusk just to lay their hands on "the starer pack". It was a thriving business for many young folks to resell their hard earned packs at exorbitant prices. So what is the price now Onipa Nua? A mere GHC 1. Its is no surprise that my young nephew has his own mobile phone and I can easily reach him at the touch of a button.

I guess those days would never come again when I had to trek about 2km to receive a phone call in my friends house. My Uncle who usually communicated through this means will first place a call to my friend to make arrangements the day before. My friend would then be forced to pay me a visit to inform me. Without phones, it was impossible to confirm if your friend who lived at the other side of town would actually be home when you arrived to check up on him.

I now own about three chips from different operators but I want to compare their tarrifs and decide if I would stay with them or make a shift. The decision I make finally will be firmly in my head but let just lay the facts down which I picked from the various websites of the operators at the time I was writing this article.



Vodafone new

MTN XtraConnect

MTN XtraValueMTN XtraCoolZain

Per Min (Gp)Per Min (Gp)

GHC 7 a month
Per Min (Gp)

Per Min (Gp) Per Min (Gp) Tigo
Per Min (Gp)
Peak7am-9pm7am-9pm7am-9pm7am-9pm 6am-7pm
On Net Mobile 14.414.61215.5129
Mobile-Fixed14.414.61614.61216.2

Mobile-Other Networks

14.414.61614.61216.2
Family&Friends89.589.5--
Off Peak

9pm-7am,
weekends

9pm-7am,
weekends

9pm-7am,
weekends

9pm-7am,
weekends

10pm-6am 7pm-6am
On Net Mobile997719/15.6 (7pm-10pm)/8.4weekends
Mobile-Fixed914.61614.61216.2
Mobile-Other Networks14.414.616 14.6 1216.2
Family&Friends66.56.56.5--
Night Calls11pm-5am12.30pm-5am12.30pm-5am12.30pm-5am6am-10pm11.30-5am
On Net Mobile000010
Mobile- Fixed914.61614.61216.2
Mobile-Other Networks14.414.61614.61216.2

I think I will continue to hold on to my numerous chips and keep on switching to get the best deal. I can't do it whilst driving though!!!