Accra, Sept. 15, GNA - Vodafone Ghana, has announced a reduction in the installation charge of its fixed broadband service from GHc90 to GHc55, a statement copied to the GNA said.

The reduction, which started from September 11, 2009, would last for a period of three months.

The statement said the reduction meant that, the initial upfront cost for new broadband customers has reduced significantly.

"We have reduced our installation charges so that everyone can connect to our broadband facilities," it said.

Recently Vodafone introduced a wireless dongle that offered on-the-go internet service on Vodafone Mobile broadband. Dubbed, the Vodafone Mobile Connect, the dongle gave customers always-on, fast Internet access on one's PC or laptop "whether you're stationary, on the move, indoor or outdoor," a statement said. The service, which came with a Vodafone USB Modem with a new Tariff Offer for Post-paid and Prepaid subscribers, would soon be available in the market.

The statement said Prepaid Customers would enjoy an additional GHC20 to start directly with the service.

It said Vodafone's broadband had a suite of business broadband packages tailored to the needs of Solar and Heliospheric Observatory service (SOHOs), Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SME's) and large enterprises.

In a related development, the Vodafone Group had launched a Wi-Fi hotspot application that would enable users to connect up to five devices to the same mobile broadband connection, a statement copied to the GNA said.

The "Vodafone Mobile Broadband Hotspot" would initially be available in Germany, Romania and Spain and soon in Ghana and other Vodafone operations in Ghana, would support High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) connectivity up to 7.2 Mbps.

The credit-card-sized independent operating system enables customers to connect quickly and easily to any device that supports the Wi-Fi standard, and then connect to the internet using Vodafone's mobile broadband connectivity.

With one touch to power on, users will be able to detect the mobile Wi-Fi cloud using any device configured for Wi-Fi and connect up to five devices within a 10-metre radius.

The device has an internal battery that provides up to four hours of active use on a single charge.

"The Vodafone Mobile Broadband Hotspot offers mobile professionals, students and families a one-touch connectivity solution that turns Wi-Fi enabled devices such as MP3 players and laptops into connected mobile internet devices," the statement said.

It said the product brought even more flexibility to customers, and ensures that Vodafone's market leading mobile broadband could be rolled out to even more devices to give customers greater convenience. Vodafone has a monopoly over SAT-3, the only submarine fibre optics cable with a landing station in Ghana, giving the company monopoly over broadband.

But two more submarine fibre optic cables, Glo One and Main One, are due to land in Ghana soon, which would broadband ownership available to other telecom operators and ISPs; and analysts say that would break Vodafone's monopoly on broadband and automatically force prices down.