Ghana’s Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations Minister, Samuel Nartey George, used Monday’s Government Accountability Series at Ghana’s Jubilee House to present an eight-month scorecard for his ministry — one that paired consumer-facing wins with candid disclosures about the infrastructure problems undercutting them.
The address, covering January through August, doubled as both a progress report and a pressure-test of the government’s digital agenda heading into the final quarter of 2026.
Lower Prices, But at What Cost to Delivery
Mr. George’s headline claims centered on affordability. He said engagement with mobile operators pushed MTN to raise data bundle volumes by 15 percent, with Telecel and AirtelTigo each adding 10 percent. On fixed broadband, he said MTN cut its 100 Mbps unlimited package price by roughly 70 percent, from GH¢987 to GH¢299 a month, while rolling out new 300 Mbps and 500 Mbps tiers.
He also credited a stakeholder committee — including the National Communications Authority and the Cyber Security Authority — with securing improved DStv packages in October 2025 that, he said, have held nearly a year later despite predictions they would quietly lapse.
These figures are self-reported by the ministry and its industry partners rather than independently verified pricing data, a distinction worth flagging given the political stakes of an affordability narrative.
5G Opens Up, But Rural Ghana Still Runs on Old Tech
The most consequential regulatory move disclosed was the National Communications Authority’s July 15 decision to scrap Ghana’s wholesale 5G exclusivity framework, opening spectrum in the 700 MHz, 2.3 GHz and 3 GHz bands to competitive licensing.
Mr. George linked this directly to fresh capital commitments: MTN pledged more than $1.1 billion over three years, including roughly $380 million this year for 800 new sites, while Telecel said it raised capital investment 60 percent from 2023 to 2026 versus the prior four-year stretch.
Yet Mr. George was explicit that many rural sites still run on 2G and 3G equipment that cannot support mobile money, e-learning, or telemedicine — services increasingly central to digital inclusion. He described a constituency-level mapping exercise done with members of Parliament to identify the worst-served areas, with 180 new MTN sites already active from that effort.
Upgrading legacy rural infrastructure to 4G-capable standards is now framed as a priority alongside new coverage, though no firm completion date was given.
SIM Registration Moves Toward Biometric Verification
Mr. George also reported progress on a long-pending regulatory item: SIM registration reform. The Legislative Instrument governing the process has been laid before Parliament and passed, clearing the last legal hurdle. He said the National Communications Authority is now expected to begin biometrically verified SIM registration before the end of 2026.
The policy is framed as a security and identity-management measure, tying mobile numbers more tightly to verified national identification. No operational rollout timeline, cost to consumers, or enforcement mechanism for unregistered SIMs was detailed in the briefing — details that will matter once implementation begins.
The Network’s Weak Points: Fibre Cuts and Grid Failures
In the briefing’s most interesting section, Mr. George detailed the scale of damage undermining the network. Ghana is projected to record 8,578 fibre cuts in 2026, with 4,289 already logged by mid-year, at an average repair cost of about $2,045 each — over $20 million spent on repairs in 2025 alone.
He attributed roughly half of road-related cuts to the government’s own “Big Push” road construction program, citing specific outages: over 17 hours of downtime on the Winneba–Mankessim corridor, more than 19 hours on Ho–Ziope, and over nine hours on Hwediem–Goaso.
He said a joint Cabinet memo with the Ministry of Roads on a “Dig Once” coordination policy is pending Cabinet approval, alongside new cost-recovery penalties for third-party damage to telecom infrastructure.
Power instability compounded the problem. Mr. George cited the April 23 Akosombo transmission fire and two grid outages in July and August, tied to faults on the Akosombo–Volta corridor, as driving up to a 30 percent spike in cell site outages during those periods.
What the Numbers Don’t Answer
The briefing left several questions open. There’s no independent verification of the pricing claims, no timeline for closing the rural 2G/3G gap beyond “priority” language, and no cost estimate for the Dig Once coordination framework awaiting Cabinet approval.
The SIM registration rollout — a measure with direct implications for millions of subscribers — likewise lacks a public implementation plan. The government’s own road program being named as a leading cause of network disruption, while the same government negotiates lower consumer prices, is a tension the ministry acknowledged but didn’t fully resolve.
Mr. George also used the platform to tout Ghana’s One Million Coders Programme, which has logged 141,954 registrations and 27,782 active learners, and to note Ghana’s incoming chairmanship of the African Union’s ICT committee starting in October.
Whether the affordability gains hold through year-end — and whether the Dig Once policy and biometric SIM verification actually launch on schedule — will be the real test of Monday’s promises.
