By Toma Imirhe
Even though its erstwhile 10 year exclusivity has recently been revoked by the Government of Ghana, Next Gen Infraco (NGIC) last week commenced the first full commercial wholesale 5G operations in the country, making it available to telecommunications and internet service providers in the country to link up and then extend the service to retail customers.
The service for now is available in parts of Accra, Kumasi and Tamale, but the company says it is already working to expand its infrastructural coverage to other parts of the country in phases. The company’s target is to have 5,200 sites up and running within the next three years.
The commencement of NGIC’s commercial operations, following inspections and technical validation processes and ultimately, the approval of the National Communications Authority, is coming about a year behind schedule. Nevertheless it marks a significant milestone in Ghana’s digital development agenda. The commercial activation comes as the government pursues its target of achieving 70% population coverage with access to 5G by March 2027.
However, the company will now have to gear up for inevitable competition in the market as government has reversed its exclusivity and declared its intention to sell spectrum to other industry players.
The NCA has issued a notice to amend NGIC’s licence to remove the exclusivity clause that previously gave the company sole authority to deploy wholesale 5G infrastructure nationwide. The regulator says the move is intended to promote competition, innovation and more efficient use of spectrum while enhancing service quality for consumers.
NGIC had originally been granted a ten-year exclusive licence as part of Ghana’s “shared infrastructure” model, under which a single wholesale network provider would build the core 4G and 5G infrastructure for retail operators. This strategy involved adopting a wholesale-first infrastructure model designed to coordinate national deployment while maintaining competition at the retail level.
Under this framework: NGIC would build and operate the shared 4G/5G radio and core network infrastructure allowing licensed mobile network operators to connect to the platform and provide retail services directly to consumers and businesses.
However, delays in the rollout and growing industry concerns about market concentration have prompted a policy rethink by government.
With the removal of exclusivity, government is expected to allocate additional 5G spectrum directly to other telecom operators, allowing them to deploy their own infrastructure alongside NGIC’s wholesale network.
Industry analysts say the most immediate beneficiaries of the policy shift will be Ghana’s three major mobile network operators — MTN Ghana, Telecel Ghana, and AT Ghana — which together dominate the country’s mobile telecommunications market. These operators already possess extensive 4G infrastructure and subscriber bases that could accelerate the commercial rollout of 5G services once spectrum is assigned.
Telecel Ghana and AT Ghana are already linked to the NGIC wholesale network initiative, while MTN Ghana, the country’s largest operator with more than 30 million subscribers, has the financial capacity and technical expertise to undertake its own nationwide 5G deployment.
Beyond the major mobile operators, the liberalised framework could also attract participation from internet service providers and infrastructure companies seeking access to spectrum or partnerships with global technology vendors.
Government officials argue that opening the 5G market will accelerate Ghana’s digital transformation, support emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and smart cities, and help achieve the country’s target of broad nationwide 5G coverage within the next few years.
However, some industry stakeholders caution that policy reversals could create uncertainty for investors who committed capital under the earlier exclusivity arrangement.
Despite those concerns, the new competitive framework is widely expected to speed up deployment of next-generation connectivity and expand Ghana’s role as a regional digital innovation hub.
