Global Voice Group S.A., in partnership with the Guinean Post and Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (ARPT), recently announced its commitment to fund, build and equip five cyber centers in Guinea by the end of the first quarter of 2011.
This joint ARPT-Global Voice Group initiative, according to ARPT officials, will allow many citizens, in each of the five districts of Conakry, to "access the Internet" and "benefit from a complete range of equipments and telecommunication services.
"By launching the project, Global Voice Group aims to do its part to "bridge the digital divide in Guinea," according to Laurent Lamothe, CEO of the company, who said "Nowadays, the Internet plays a key role, not only in the economic development of African countries, but also in the development and well-being of communities. In this respect, we are pleased to effectively support the Guinean State's efforts to bridge the digital divide in Guinea."
But don't think that Global Voice Group will just deliver facilities and equipments. The company will engage local communities in the project and give them proper training to assume autonomy over the management of their cyber centers, company officials say, adding that Global Voice Group's main objective is "to provide the communities with facilities that are economically viable and self-sustaining over time."
Global Voice Group also aims to foster local entrepreneurism by giving young students and entrepreneurs an opportunity to develop management skills while helping their communities.
In June TMC's (News - Alert) Julia Kenny wrote that The Ghana News Agency reported that the Ghanian government would employ Haitian-based Global Voices Group to monitor inbound international phone calls despite protests from Vodafone (News - Alert) Ghana and other telecom operators.
GVG's call verification system helped the government pinpoint the exact amount of money lost per month through fraudulently intercepted phone calls bound for Ghana from other nations, according the Ministry of Communications. These precise results determined by GVG suggest that its employment by Ghana’s government will prevent the fraudulent call termination causing those monetary losses that reach into the millions.
David Sims is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of David’s articles, please visit his columnist page. He also blogs for TMCnet here.Edited by Charles West