Author: Godwin Gabla

No matter what your purpose for browsing the Internet is, one thing you don’t want to deal with is slow connections.

The older the generation of your internet connectivity, the slower your internet speed becomes. That’s to say that the latest generations of the internet are by far faster than the previous ones.

Currently, the world is at the stage of the fifth generation of the internet called 5G technology.

But here in Ghana and most parts of Africa, we are on the 4G LTE connectivity as the highest.

The 4G LTE connectivity is five times faster than the erstwhile 3G technology.

So anyone using the 4G network can access four times the data someone using a 3G device will access within the same given time.

Interestingly, in order for you to use the 4G sim card in your device, your device must be built for 4G connectivity. Usually, one would check these specifications before purchasing a phone or device.

But, humans as we are, it is not out of place for us to fail to check this out of the excitement that comes with acquiring a new phone.

So, in this article, I’ll focus on how to check your phone to see if it’s 4G LTE compatible and how to enable it for faster internet connection.

How To Check The 4G Connectivity on your smartphone

1. Go to your phone settings
2. Select wireless and networks
3. Select mobile networks
4. Select preferred networks
5. If your device is 4G enabled, you’ll see 4G there
6. Select it and enable it.

If you don’t see 4G there, it means your device is not compatible with the 4G LTE connection.

And that calls for a replacement if indeed you want to enjoy higher internet speeds.

Conclusion

Most of the latest phones made support both 4G LTE and 5G so you wouldn’t have a problem with such phones. However, the very old generations of phones such as those released before the launch of 4G in 2012.

Most current iPhones and Samsung devices, as well as Itel, Infinix and Tecno phones, are 4G enabled.

If you have an older version of your SIM card, it is advisable for you to turn it in for a 4G replacement since you can only use a 4G network if your sim card and phone are both 4G enabled.

If your sim card is 4G enabled, you’ll see 4G LTE written on the starter pack. Also, if you enable 4G in an environment which doesn’t have 4G coverage, you tend to stress the phone network modules as they have to work extra to keep up with the requirements.

Once upon a time, we are all caught in the net of having limited airtime or no airtime at all. You either want to make a call or text someone only to realise that you’re lacking on airtime.

In most instances, when this happens, you hardly have the time to go out in search of call cards to buy. The best you can do is to borrow SOS credit from your network service provider.

In this article, I’ll take you through the various steps involved in borrowing airtime from the four major network service providers in Ghana namely MTN Ghana, Vodafone Ghana, Glo and AirtelTigo.

MTN Ghana

You can borrow airtime on your Mtn line from between 50 pesewas to 15 cedis depending on how much credit you buy, how long you’ve been using your sim card and how soon you repaid your previous borrowed airtime.

To borrow airtime on MTN, follow the following:

1. Dial *506#
2. Select “borrow credit”
3. Choose the amount you wish to borrow from the list
4. Select 1 to confirm.

Or

1. Text “Start” to 1506
2. Select the amount you wish to borrow
3. Text 1 to confirm

To check your loan status,

1. Dial *506#
2. Select 1 for status

Note: MTN charges 10% on all borrowed airtime as repayment charge. Also, for you to be able to access this service, you must be an active MTN user for 3 months and you must have airtime balance less than 4 cedis.

Vodafone Ghana

Vodafone Ghana also gives SOS credit to their users who have run out of airtime. To qualify for this though, an individual must be an active Vodafone user for at least the past 15 days. A service charge of 10% of the credit requested is charged as a commission on the airtime. You must have airtime of less than 1 cedi to be able to go for this.

How to borrow data on Vodafone:

1. Dial *505#
2. Select the amount you wish to borrow
3. Select 1 to confirm the transaction

This borrowed airtime can be used for nothin browsing and calls.

Glo Ghana

Glo Ghana is arguably one of Ghana’s fastest internet service providers with commendable internet speed and good data packages.

Well, they also have the “Borrow me credit” service which enables customers to get some airtime loans when they run out in the middle of something.

To qualify for this service though, the customer must be using a registered sim card, you must be an active Glo user for the past 3 months.

To borrow airtime, follow these steps:

1. Dial *5321#
2. Select 1 to borrow credit
3. Select the amount you wish to borrow
4. Select one to confirm.

The repayment of this airtime loan can be in bits or in full depending how much airtime you recharge on your next top-up.

It also attracts a 15% commission.

AirtelTigo

Currently, Airtel tigo is the second biggest network company in Ghana following the merger of the erstwhile Tigo and Airtel companies.

To borrow airtime from AirtelTigo, follow the following steps:

1. Dial *588#
2. Select the amount you wish to borrow
3. Confirm the transaction.

You can check your airtime usage by dialling *130*10#

Conclusion

The various network service providers have various criteria for borrowing airtime to their customers. So don’t beat yourself if you have several SIM cards and you are able to borrow on some yet you’re not able to borrow on others.

For more enquiry on qualification, you can call your network provider’s customer care.

In an attempt to cut-out the activities of Guru boys, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority of Ghana launched an online platform in 2019.

This platform is to enhance the speed of processing number plate acquisition throughout the country and also to propel the government’s agenda of digitising the economy.

Like any other novelty, using this online system becomes a bit difficult for first-time users.

In this article, we shall take you through the process of registering for the online portal.

How To Register On the DVLA Portal

1. To register on the portal, visit online.dvla.gov.gh/sign_in
2. Click “signup free” at the bottom of the Sign-in page.
3. Select Individual in the Popup menu.
4. When the new applicant registration form opens, fill in the following under the Basic Information tab:
   1. Your title (Mr./Mrs)
   2. Select Your Gender (Male or female)
   3. Enter your accurate date of birth. (Day, Month and Year)
   4. Where you were born (Place of birth)
   5. Your surname, your first name,
   6. Your employer’s name (Example GES, Self-employee)
   7. Select your nationality and enter your middle name (If any)
   8. Enter your previous name (Any other name you’ve had before a name change )
   9. Select the type of ID Card you want to use for identity (Voters ID, National ID, Health Insurance, SSNIT or Passport).
5. Enter the ID card number in the ID No. column
6. Click on Next
7. Under the Contact Information Tab, Enter the following information:
   1. Enter your postal address in the boat box column (P.O. Box 23)
   2. Enter the town of the postal address in the city column (Example, Kaneshie – Accra)
   3. Select your region from the drop-down list. (The list still contains only 10 regions so choose the original region from which your new region was created if this applies to you)
   4. Enter your email address in the email address column
   5. Enter the name of your area in the “suburb” column (Example: Otamens-Kasoa)
   6. Enter your street address in the “street address” column.
   7. Enter your house number
   8. Enter your full mobile phone number in mobile no. Column.
   9. In case of any other number, enter it into the second mobile number column.
8. Click on next to move to the next step.
9. Under the Account Credentials Tab, enter the following information:
10. In the user name column, enter a name you can easily recollect.
11. Enter a preferred password in the password column.
12. Repeat the password in the “confirm password” column.
13. Click next to move on

On the next page, you’ll view all the details you had entered in the previous three pages. Check to be sure that everything is in place and click on next. If you have any wrongly entered data, you can click on the edit button at the top of each table to edit before moving on.

You’ll see your portal open after the previous step and then you can access all your services.

Conclusion

I believe this article was helpful to you in your quest to register for an online portal for DVLA in Ghana. In subsequent posts, we shall write about how to book specific services from your portal. Kindly share your comments in the comment box below.

 

Majority of us know Facebook as a platform for reading timeline posts, liking and commenting on photos as well as chatting with friends.

Well, this is not entirely false. But, Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook, with over 2 billion users worldwide is far more than just a fun and chatting app.

Facebook has other functions such as a marketplace for selling, digital stores for advertising and selling, business accounts for creating employment and organizing business at no cost.

One of the functions of the business aspect of the Facebook society is job seeking.

In this article, we shall take you through how to seek jobs on Facebook. Both local or international job opportunities can be searched for on Facebook.

In order to be able to do this, you must first of all have an existing account with Facebook.

How To Find Jobs On Facebook

1. Scroll through your newsfeed, you should see a row of jobs with the caption “jobs nearby”

2. In case you don’t see this, type “Jobs” in the search bar

3. Select “See all” under the “jobs nearby” tab

4. Enter the kind of job you want in the “title” search bar

5. select your preferred job offer from the list.

6. Read through the job description and salary.

7. Click on “Apply now” if you are okay with the details.

8. Edit your details to suite the position you’re interested in. You can also add new job experiences here.

9. Once done, answer the compulsory question at the bottom of the page (if any) in clear terms which explains how best you understand.

10. Click on send.

11. Check your inbox for any feedback from the company seeking employees.

Conclusion: With the Facebook jobs option, you get to choose the locations from which you want to be shown job offers. Also, you can be interviewed right on Facebook via the messenger app. Your prospective employer can use the schedule interview option in their Facebook business window to plan an online interview with you in real-time.

With this service, you can acquire international jobs. Both part-time and full-time jobs are available.

Do not be convinced by any employer on Facebook to make payments for anything before you gain employment with them. For as much as Facebook jobs are an easy way to seek job online, it could be an avenue for some unscrupulous people to try defrauding unsuspecting job seekers. So be extra careful when dealing with them.