After another year, Ghana’s promise of 5G service for mobile consumers has been broken once again.
Despite a high-profile “ceremonial launch” in 2024 and a “final, non-negotiable” deadline of December 2025 set by the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization, Ghana’s commercial 5G network is nowhere to be found.
The failure to meet the target raises questions about the controversial “shared infrastructure” model, which was announced in 2024.
Missed Deadline?
The ultimatum was delivered in July by the Minister of Communications, Samuel Nartey George.
Frustrated by a string of missed targets, the Minister warned that the Next Generation Infrastructure Company (NGIC)—the wholesale consortium granted an exclusive 10-year license—had until the end of the fourth quarter to activate 5G service.
“Failure by NGIC to roll out full commercial activity by the end of quarter four this year will lead to me terminating the terms of that contract, taking away the exclusivity clause and opening up for fresh negotiations,” he said in a press briefing earlier this year.
The Minister stated that he expected 50 live 5G sites in Accra and Kumasi by December 2025.
As of 29th December, there have been no updates on the status of the 5G sites.
An email from The Labari Journal to the Ministry of Communication about the status of 5G service was not responded to at the time of this publication.
A Model Under Fire
Unlike most countries, which auction 5G spectrum to the highest bidders, Ghana opted for a “neutral host” model.
Under this system, NGIC—a consortium involving the government and private firms like Ascend Digital and Smart Infraco—builds the backbone, and telcos “rent” access to it.
The government had argued this would lower costs and prevent a “digital divide” by ensuring rural areas weren’t ignored in favor of wealthy cities.
However, the move has been plagued by transparency concerns and technical bottlenecks.
MTN Ghana, the market leader, initially planned to launch its 5G network in 2022 but suspended the pilot launch. No reason was given for the suspension.
The Road Ahead
As the December deadline expires, the Ministry finds itself in a political corner.
A revocation of the license could spark a lengthy legal battle. Extending it again would signal a total loss of regulatory teeth.
Currently, the state of Ghana’s telecom sector is not as positive, with AT Ghana struggling with mounting debt. There are also the persistent rumors of an impending merger with Telecel.
The Ministry of Communication denied this.
A failure to launch 5G in Ghana for the second time would not be the end of the world, but it would still be a messy situation for all stakeholders involved.
