Surfline Ghana shutdown - reasons and what it means to subscribers
Surfline Communications Limited was established in 2011 to provide premium quality wireless broadband connectivity to the Ghanaians. Surfline was recently shut down by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) for unpaid taxes reaching Gh₵37million. This amount consists of unpaid pay-as-you-earn monies for their workers, communication service tax and penalties since the year 2015. The reasons for this action have been clearly outlined in this article.
This article brings you information about Surfline, their business, their company, what they are about, what they do, and where they're at financially as a company.
The company was awarded a Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) license by The National Communications Authority (NCA) a year later. Surfline immediately launched to become Ghana’s first 4G LTE Company, leading single largest LTE ever deployed in Sub-Saharan Africa with world class strategic partners such as IBM, Alcatel Lucent, Microsoft and Huawei. Surfline has built a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, which is commonly referred to as the only true 4G. LTE is a relatively new technology, which was only recently adopted in big cities such as London. For those who ask the question "what is Surfline?", this article brings you the answers you seek.
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Why was surfline shut down
Surfline has been shut down by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) for unpaid taxes reaching Gh₵37million. This amount consists of unpaid pay-as-you-earn for workers, communication service tax and penalties since the year 2015.
Mr Kwasi Bobia-Ansah, the Assistant Commissioner Communications and Public Affairs of the GRA, said the office was shut down because there was no commitment from the company to pay. This was unlike Glo who paid part of their debt as assurance to pay their full obligation in due time. Surfline Ghana refused to heed all warnings from the Ghana Revenue Authority to pay up the huge dept. The company had been given 10 days to offset the debt or risk facing legal action.
Officials of the Debt Management and Compliance Enforcement Unit of the GRA closed down the Roman Ridge Head office of the company for failing to pay or show any commitment to paying the taxes. Workers were asked to pack out before the GRA used it's yellow and red tapes to seal doors of the office and the main gate of the company. “We prefer to dialogue…we just don’t close down. This is one of the last tools available to us,” he said. Adding, “We communicate, remind you, etc., but they didn’t show enough commitment. Before there is a distress action, there are phone calls and reminders. We don’t just get up one day to shut them down,” Mr. Bobia-Ansah stated.
Fast and reliable internet is key in business development and communication, especially in a developing country like Ghana. What is needed is more internet-providing networks and not the shutting down of one of the few that we have. Surfline Ghana needs to settle all debts immediately so as to continue in their field of business.
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Will Surfline users be affected?
Surfline users do not need to fret over whether their internet connectivity will be cut off or not. The company has put measures in place to make sure their customers are not affected. In fact, they just sent out messages to all customers about a new range of bundles they have just added: “Dear Customer, we are excited to introduce our new range of Surfplus bundles, effective 5th November 2018. This will give you flexible and varied bundles to help you do more with less on our high quality 4G LTE network. Thank you!” So dear Surfline customers, you do not need to worry. You can still use your Surfline sign in, top up your bundles and enjoy fast internet.
How long will Surfline be shut down?
It is not very clear how long Surfline Ghana will be shut down. However, the management of Surfline are in negotiations with the GRA officials and hopefully the workers of Surfline Ghana will be back to their offices very soon.
The Surfline pricing
- The Surfline modem costs Ghc 99.00
- The Surfline MiFi price is Ghc 250.00
- The Surfline Router costs Ghc 499.00
- They have a wide range of bundles you can choose from
Surfline customer service contacts
- You can reach the Accra Surfline customer service on 030 274 5777
- You can also reach the Osu Surfline customer service centre on 030 274 5766
The above is just a short information seeking to inform the society and especially Surfline Ghana users who check Surfline data, about the current state of the Surfline Ghana shutdown issue
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Source: YEN.com.gh
