The Liberia Telecommunication Authority (LTA) has announced that there may be a minimum internet service experience in the next five days here due to preparations, beginning today, aimed at solving some technical problems.

Acting LTA Chairman Abdullah Kamara, told reporters in Sinkor, Monrovia Tuesday that there were some technical issues between Dakar, Senegal and Lezerbond where Liberia’s ace cable fiber is passing and that maintenance services work will begin today.

“So once the maintenance work starts tomorrow [March 27, 2013], services will be minimized. It is possible for some operators you may not notice anything. Like I said, the operators have started to put into place mechanisms to ensure that customers are not greatly affected,” said Commissioner Kamara.

Subscribers of the stakeholders on the Ace Cable launched in Liberia, including Lonestar Cell Communication Corporation with 10 percent, Cellcom Communication Corporation with 10 percent, and Libtelco with 20 percent respectively, may face minimum connectivity service during the maintenance work period.

The LTA Acting boss said they were informed two weeks ago through Lonestar Cell – their member to the Ace Cable Consortium of the technical problem. Prior to the technical issues, he said Liberia has enjoyed improved internet connectivity over the past few months because the Ace Cable had been operating properly since coming into operations.

But he said having made contacts with the relevant parties, the operators have responded that they are putting into place the necessary mechanism to ensure that customers experience minimum obstructions within the five days period that was given by the Ace Consortium in France.

In another development, Commissioner Kamara said the LTA will shortly finalize process for a new regime that will reduce barriers from entry into the market.

“We want to go away from the current regime where investors have to do a huge off front payment to get a license, to a regime where you pay taxes based on the revenues you generate,” he said.

He announced that the LTA has also introduced the gateway monitoring system to raise additional Six to Seven Million United States Dollars for the Liberian government each year, besides the revenue it generates yearly.

“We expect the gateway operation to be live by April 2013, to be graced by Vice President Joseph N. Boakai, who will cut the ribbon,” he added.

Also speaking, LTA Commissioner on Engineering and Technology Henry W. Benson, noted that Liberia is getting the worth of the money spent on the ace cable, saying “We are getting a lot of application requests from investors in and out of Liberia, requesting new technologies that have arrived on the fiber cable in Liberia.”

Recently he said the government through the LTA awarded a new license to Lonestar Cell called the Universal Mobile for Telecommunication Service or UNTS License, and one also to the Cellcom GSM, respectively.

“As these new technologies come, it all bows down to making life better. We are beginning to work on the second phase of the process – running fiber from Monrovia to the interior parts of Liberia,” Commissioner Benson disclosed.