Elephant in the room: Why Ghana missed the June deadline for 5G rollout [OPINION]

On 1 November 2024, there was a grand event at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel, which marked the ceremonial launch of Ghana's first shared 4G/5G network under an exclusive 10-year licence granted to Next Generation Infrastructure Company (NGIC). But it was not yet an operational launch, which would have meant the network was actually live for public consumption from that date. As we speak today, it has been six months since the launch but there is still no live public 5G network in Ghana yet.

Speaking of live 5G network, the then Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, under whose tenure the ceremonial launch was done, gave a December 2024 deadline for all three telcos in Ghana – MTN, Telecel and AT Ghana – to roll out live 5G networks for public consumption. In fact, she said the network was ready and so if by December 2024, any telco was not offering 5G, then customers should question that telco. In spite of that bold statement, six months have passed and we still don't have a live 5G network anywhere in Ghana yet.

Initially, the deadline for the live rollout was extended to January 2025, then to May 2025. Recently, new sector Minister, Sam George made a public announcement that the sole wholesaler for the 4G/5G network in Ghana, NGIC has assured him that 5G will go live in Ghana in June 2025, which was last month. He then stated that he is going to hold them to that deadline, and if they fail there will be consequences, which may include a possible review of the 10-year exclusive licensing terms. The Minister did state that he is not a fan of terminating contracts and licences, particularly because such actions have financial consequences for the state. But he will not hesitate to review the terms of the licence if it becomes necessary.

NGIC itself has not made any public statement as to when the network will go live, but even if we took the Minister's word for it, the month of June is gone, and we still don't have live public 5G network anywhere in Ghana. So, what are the operational and regulatory hurdles which have been in the way of 5G going live in Ghana?

Operational Issues

Tower Rollout

According to Honourable Sam George, NGIC assured him that by June they would have rolled out at least 350 cell sites, comprising 200–250 sites in Accra and 100–150 sites in Kumasi, out of which at least 50 will be 5G sites, adding that he is looking forward to nothing less than what they promised. But at the last count NGIC had rolled out only up to 22 cell sites mainly in Accra and Kumasi, which is a far cry from the promise, and woefully inadequate to ensure a meaningful impact across the country.

But we are reliably informed that all the equipment needed to roll out the 350 cell sites are in-country and have been warehoused here, waiting for a number of regulatory approvals to make their rollout worth the while of the stakeholders. Rolling out such equipment and managing them cost a lot of money in the form of monthly fees and utility bills. A typical example of such bad business decision was when Glo first came to Ghana – they rolled out cell sites to cover 90% of the country even though there was no real guarantee of customer presence across the country. In the end they had to decommission a lot of the sites even before the company finally collapsed. So, if regulatory approvals for industry players to connect to the shared platform and use the sites are still pending, it would not make commercial sense to roll them out immediately. What is important is that the equipment are here and ready to be rolled out.

Hesitation from Towercos

Again, NGIC and tower companies (towercos) – mainly ATC and Helios Towers – are yet to finalise agreements to ensure that the towercos will make their towers available for the rollout of 4G and 5G networks across the country.

Towercos, who are critical to site deployment, remain hesitant to fully commit to NGIC’s rollout, largely due to the historic financial losses in the Ghanaian telecoms market. Specifically, significant unpaid obligations from legacy telcos such as AT Ghana and Telecel Ghana—who continue to struggle under the SMP-dominated market structure—have made towercos risk-averse and reluctant to expose themselves to further credit exposure without robust guarantees and reform. It would be recalled that the Minister recently announced that ATC alone presented a bill of GHS1.5 billion, which is the debt owed by AT Ghana alone, not to talk of how much Telecel owes ATC. So, the towercos are apprehensive about entering into another relationship with NGIC, which may lead to more unpaid bills and fees.

However, all of this underscores the importance of NGIC’s neutral-host model as a pathway to reduce financial fragmentation and ensure centralised accountability. The shared model promises to reduce the financial burden on operators and therefore mitigate the incident of operators piling up debt to towercos. It also highlights the need for intentional regulatory support to rebuild investor confidence in Ghana's telecoms market.

The regulator and the government are not oblivious to these challenges and what policy decisions they can bring to bear on this matter in the common interest of the industry and of Ghana. Instead, it appears that the licensed wholesaler has been left on its own to negotiate that difficult curve and meet deadlines, which cannot also happen without certain specific regulatory interventions.

Delays in NOC Inspection Report and Network Certification

For instance, NCA completed technical inspection of the Network Operations Centre (NOC) and backup facilities at NGIC several weeks before they issued an official report and certification to NGIC. This very important report is a prerequisite for full operational clearance. But from our understanding, it took at least eight weeks before that report was delivered to the operator, and that has also impacted the operator's ability to meet deadlines.

Pending Regulatory Issues

Delays in SIMs and PLMN Approval for Testing

Spectrum Interference

The other challenge is with the 2.1GHz spectrum allocated to the operator. Simply put, there is a raised noise floor in that spectrum, which will interfere with any communication signal.

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