In August 2021, the former CEO of MTN Ghana, Selorm Adadevoh, stated that the company was preparing to launch its 5G network in 2022.
Speaking at a Business Breakfast programme yesterday at the MTN House in Accra, Mr. Selorm Adadevoh stated that MTN Ghana has always been willing to embrace change and serve customers with products when the need arises.
“We are always trying to make sure we can be the first to launch the next technology“, he said.
“…. 2G, 3G, 4G, and now 5G hopefully next year“, he added.
However, in 2022, the year the company was supposed to launch the pilot, MTN announced that it was suspending it. They stated that it would not be feasible to launch because the industry was “not ready” to roll out 5G licenses that year.
In May 2024, US publication Bloomberg reported that Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, was gearing up to help Ghana launch its 5G network by the end of the year.
Through Radisys Corp, a unit of Mr. Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd, and Next-Gen Infra Co (NGIC), they would provide 5G broadband services to mobile operators and internet service providers in Ghana.
According to the report, NGIC would have the exclusive right to offer 5G services in Ghana for a decade.
The former Minister of Communication, Ms. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, would further announce that all telecom companies would launch 5G for consumers in September 2024.
The launch date was later pushed to November 1st, 2024.
Despite organising a launch event, attended by all major telecom companies, MTN, Telecel, and AT Ghana had not yet rolled out the service as the country headed into December.
When asked about the delay in the rollout, the Minister of Communications stated in an interview: “We built it, and it’s now up to the telecom companies to buy capacity and deliver it to their subscribers.”
The Controversial Role of Next Gen Infraco
When it was announced that Next Gen Infraco (NGIC), a consortium, was granted a 10-year exclusive license to deploy 4G and 5G infrastructure, a lot of critics were concerned.
They argued that awarding such exclusivity to a newly formed entity, which lacked a proven track record, raised concerns about transparency and due diligence.
Some investigations noted that NGIC would struggle to raise adequate financing to build a parallel 5G network or to commercially take over and upgrade an existing network.
“There is real concern that Ghana is replacing the much-criticized MTN monopoly with a new one, backed by government fiat and controlled by a private entity with limited transparency,” IMANI Africa Honourary Vice President Bright Simons noted.
Furthermore, the lack of an open bidding process and the rapid granting of the license have fueled suspicions of political cronyism.
According to reports, the National Communications Authority (NCA) granted the license within an unprecedented four-day period, bypassing the usual rigorous review process.
Is A June 2025 Rollout Feasible?
The current Minister of Communications, Sam George, publicly stated that he had communicated with the company and expected the launch of the much-delayed 5G service by June 2025.
“They initially told me May at MWC in Barcelona. They changed it to June. That’s the date I’m sticking with,” he said on The Point of View with journalist Bernard Avle.
“I’m not a fan of terminating contracts, but all options will be on the table,” he stated, adding that license renegotiation or restructuring is possible.
According to Mr. George, NGIC had guaranteed 350 cell sites by the June deadline, 50 of which would be 5G capable.
Deploying 5G infrastructure is capital-intensive, requiring significant investment in new technologies and upgrades. It requires more power, more fiber to connect cell sites, and newer antennae.
Whether NGIC can roll out 5G by June remains to be seen.
We reached out to the Ministry of Communications via email to comment on the story. By the time of this publication, they had yet to respond.
If Ghanaians do not get access to 5G service next month, the ball will be in the court of the Ministry of Communications.
They could extend the deadline or restructure the current contract.
In the end, six months after its initial launch, Ghana’s 5G rollout has been an embarrassing mess.
