SECTOR 2 RADIO Radio is the most accessible and affordable information source in Ghana and has a large audience. Since the last AMB discussion in 2013, several new radio stations have been set up, and there are currently 481 authorised FM stations in the country, of which 354 are operational; according to NCA data as at December 2016. The NCA notes the breakdown of these numbers as follows: 31 Public radio stations, 5 Public (Foreign) radio stations, 79 Community radio stations, 21 Campus radio stations and 345 Commercial radio stations. Some of the more popular stations include the state-owned GBC’s radio stations as well as the privately-owned Peace FM, Joy FM, Citi FM, Sunny FM, and others. However, access is not even across the board. One panellist noted that in some rural areas, many women still do not have access to radio, unless through their husbands. INTERNET The Internet is considered expensive for the average Ghanaian citizen. For this reason, the internet penetration rate remains low, with access being located mainly in regional capitals. Approximately 3.5 to 5 million Ghanaians access social media. (In 2013, the World Bank published Ghana’s population as standing at 26 million). With smartphones, more people are able to access the Internet, but this does not come cheap, with 1.5GB of data costing about 19GH¢ (USD4.27). Even when the means of access are available, accessibility of internet in rural areas is poor, “In the village, it’s definitely very slow.” MOBILE PHONES “Ghana has more mobile phone sets than people”, with many Ghanaians owning more than one phone. Panellists noted that this could be due to problematic network connections, and the need to be connected to different service providers for assured access. The use of mobile phones as an information source is not yet at its full potential. “Many people will have phones, but literacy issues still exist. So, they won’t use it effectively because they are functionally illiterate. They may use WhatsApp and so on, but having a phone should go beyond this.” AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER GHANA 2017 27