ASSESSING MOBILE PHONE PENETRATION AND ITS ROLE IN ENHANCING CLIMATE CHANGE COMMUNICATION IN TAMALE METROPOLIS

Abstract

This study assesses mobile penetration and how it contributes to improving climate change communication in the Tamale Metropolis in Northern Ghana. A sample of 400 adult respondents was collected through stratified random sampling from three zones of the metropolis. Trained enumerators used face-to-face structured questionnaires to collect data. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis were used for data analysis. Findings show that 80% of the respondents possessed mobile phones of which 56.2% were smartphone users and 43.8% were using basic feature phones. Double SIM card use was prevalent, used in balancing network reliability and affordability. Mobile phones were used extensively for voice calls, SMS, internet, social media, and mobile money services. Around 55% of the interviewees indicated to have received climate or weather information through mobile phones, mostly in the forms of SMS messages, voice calls, and social media. Logistic regression determined network coverage, access to electricity, affordability, literacy level, and education level to be the drivers of efficient use of mobile phones in climate communication. Income level, age, and gender were less related. The research therefore concludes that mobile phones are essential platforms in climate change communication in the Tamale Metropolis but infrastructural and socioeconomic constraints hamper their optimal use. It is, as per these findings, recommended that network infrastructure and power supply be improved by telecom operators and local authorities.