Vodafone Ghana, one of the nation’s leading telecommunication companies, has within the past seven years invested US$1.7 billion to strengthen its operations.

Mr Ebenezer Amankwah, the Corporate Communications Manager, said this basically involved upgrading of network infrastructure.

He was speaking at a roundtable discussion with the media in Kumasi to highlight the progress and challenges facing the industry.

Vodafone, with a 23% market share, employs 1,500 permanent workers and another 300 people engaged on contract basis.

Mr Amankwah announced that there had been a significant increase in the number of its subscribers - from 1.5 million in year 2008 to 7.3 million, and underlined its determination to roll out innovative products to expand its market share.

He complained of overcrowding in the telecommunications industry, with six operators competing for space and attention in a nation of about 27 million people.

That, he said, had created problems of overregulation and over-taxation, which was crippling the activities of the companies.

He, therefore, called on the regulator, the National Communication Authority (NCA), to create the right conditions for them to thrive.

The high and multiple taxes, combined with inflexible policies, were making things really hard for them, he added.

Mr Amankwah stated that the imbalance in the market share was also not helpful to healthy competition, and asked that this was tackled to create a level playing field.

Nana Yaa Afriyie Ofori-Koree, Foundation and Sustainability Manager, said Vodafone, as a responsible corporate citizen, would continue to live up to its social responsibility.

It had so far paid the medical bills of 70 patients who had to undergo surgery for treatment of their health conditions and also offered scholarship to a total 100 girls pursuing courses in technology.