This document summarizes Ghana's Universal Service Fund (GIFEC). It outlines GIFEC's vision to bridge the digital divide, and its mission to provide basic telecom services to underserved communities. It describes GIFEC's management structure and various programs to connect schools, libraries, and communities to the internet through cyber labs and community information centers. The document also discusses GIFEC's achievements in connectivity and ongoing challenges around sustainability and ownership.

1. GHANA’S UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND

2.  Overview of USF (GIFEC) in Ghana
 GIFEC Projects
 GIFEC achievements
 Challenges of Ownership and Sustainability
 Way Forward

3. OVERVIEW OF GIFEC
 The Fund was launched in November, 2004. However,
operations of the Fund started in January 2006.
 The Electronic Communications Act, 2008, Act 775
provides the legal framework (mandate) for the activities
of the Fund.

4. VISION, MISSION AND VALUES
 VISION
To bridge the digital divide between the served and the
unserved/underserved communities in Ghana
 MISSION
We exist to provide financial resources for the establishment of
universal service and access for all communities, and facilitate
the provision of basic telephony, internet service, multimedia
service, broadband and broadcasting services to these
communities.
 VALUES
We act with integrity, trust, honesty and transparency

5. MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND
 The Fund is managed by a Board of Trustees
under the chairmanship of the Hon Minister of
Communications.
The other reps are as follows:
 National Communications Authority
 Ministry of Communications.
 Five reps from the Industry Forum
 The Administrator of the Fund
 Parliamentary Select Committee on Communications

6. THE UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAMME
No Programme Constituents Projects
1. Cyber laboratory
 School Connectivity
 Community Information Centre (CIC)
 Library Connectivity
 Post Office Connectivity,
 Community Initiated Projects, etc
2. Basic Telephony and Access
 CTF (Common Telecom Facility)
 Rural Telephony
 Rural Payphone, etc.
3. ICT for Livelihood
 E-fishing (ICT for sustainable Fishing)
 112 Emergency System
 Disability Employment,
:

7. THE UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAMME
No. Programme Constituents Projects
4. ICT Support to Institutions
 Security Agencies
 Ghana News Agency
 Meteorological Authority
 NADMO, etc.
 MUSIGA
 NCCE,
 National House of Chiefs
 Nursing & Midwifery Council
5. Broadcasting
 Radio
 TV, etc.
:

8. Education, Awareness
and Local Content
 Public Education of ICT & related issues,
etc.
 Training for CIC Managers, etc.
 Criminal Information Sys.(Police), School
management System (Colleges of
Education, Nursing , NVTI)
 Desktop TV,
 SHS Exams Review Software (YANOA).
 E-Learning Platform
 Portals for Schools

9. CYBER LAB PROGRAMS
 SCHOOL CONNECTIVITY
 COMMUNITY INFORMATION CENTERS
 SECURITY CONNECTIVITY
 LIBRARY CONNECTIVITY PROJECT
 INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT(MMDA)

10. SCP
The following institutions have each been provided with a fully furnished and equipped ICT
laboratory with accessories, and Internet access:
 38 Colleges of Education
 37 NVTI
 26 Technical Institutes
 10 Youth Leadership Training Centres
 344 Senior Secondary Schools
 25 Basic Schools
 24 Community Dev’t Institutes
 3 OIC
 82 Nursing Training Schools
 9 Farm Institutes
 30 ICCES
 11 School for the deaf
 2000 Basic Schools
Total: 639
 27500 laptops have been provided to Basic Schools which do not have the infrastructure
for ICT laboratories. This is to support government policy of compulsory ICT education
at the basic level. About 2000 JHS have benefited from this initiative

11. Asuboi JHS Daboase CIC

12. Community Information Centers
 Currently 173 out of 110
CICs are fully furnished and
equipped to provide
community internet access,
low cost ICT training and also
to serve as community-based
information resource centres.
• Basic school children receive
free ICT training at the
centres.
CIC

13.  31 Military units including all the training schools
 34 Police units including all the training schools
 100 Offices of the Bureau of National Investigations
 34 Prisons centres including all the training schools
 190 National Disaster Management Organisation centres
 6 Immigration units including all the training schools
 13 Fire service units including all the training schools
SECURITY CONNECTIVITY

14.  ICT – INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT(MMDA)
 MUSIGA, NCCE,
 MMDA,
 Actors Guild,
 National House of Chiefs,
 Passport Office, etc
 LIBRARY CONNECTIVITY PROJECT
 10 Regional Libraries
 30 District Libraries
 10 Mobile Van
 CIP- Community Initiated Project—27

15. Universal Access To Basic Telephony
 Rural Telephony Project= 51 Sites
 Common Telecom Facility 38 Sites
 Rural Community Payphone= 2700 phones in
458 SHS
 Handsets for rural communities= 7000
handsets

16. ICT for Livelihood
E-Fishing Project:
18 Landing sites supported with 400 Fish Finders
ICTs for Persons with Disabilities
• 3 school for the blind,
• blind units in 8 SHS,
• 10 Disability empowerment
Emergency Call Centre 112

17. ICT Applications and Content
 School Management System – implemented for NVTI,
Colleges of Education
 Mobile phone programming application – 10 sch.
trained
 YANOA (Exams Revision)- 100 schools and 25 CIC’s
 Electronic Information Management System- 35
CIC’s
 CIS- Criminal Information System- Ghana police
 ICT Education and Awareness
 MMDA training – 2050 trained


18. Ongoing Projects
 Satellite Hub
 80 new RTPs
 School for Deaf and ICCES
 Support to Blind Union
 Support to Death and Birth Registry
 Continue with Cyber Lab programs
 Community Centralized Broadcasting System
 112 Emergency Call Centre (Ho, Tamale and
Takoradi)
 Support the digital immigration with setup boxes
 ICT Support for E-Fishing
 Continuation of all the above listed projects

19. CHALLENGES
 High Internet Bandwidth Cost
 High turnover trained CIC managers
 Ownership

20. THE WAY FORWARD
 Tax waiver for provision of internet services
for rural area
 Strategic partnership with the network
operators for subzidised bandwith for GIFEC
projects
 A lot more of public private partnerships for
the implementation of GIFEC projects.

21. Thank
You

22. OUTSTANDING UNIVERSAL SERVICE
FUND-2013

23. Best Universal Access in Infrastructure-
2014