Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has reassured Ghanaians that the country’s upcoming 5G rollout will be both affordable and secure.
Speaking on the shared network model adopted for 5G deployment, the Minister emphasized that the approach aims to make high-speed internet accessible nationwide without imposing heavy costs on consumers.
The shared network model enables telecom operators to utilize a common infrastructure, allowing them to avoid high capital expenditure on infrastructure. This setup is expected to lower operational costs, which the government anticipates will be passed on to consumers, keeping 5G services affordable for the general public.
As Ghana launched its much-anticipated 5G network in Accra today, November 1, the service promises to offer significantly higher internet speeds, faster data transfers, and improved network reliability compared to previous generations.
It is expected to deliver up to 10 times the speed of 4G Plus services, marking a major upgrade in network connectivity. Enhanced capacity and lower latency will enable faster downloads and more consistent performance across industries. The initiative is also expected to drive digital transformation, particularly in areas such as healthcare, education, and financial services.
The 5G license has been awarded to Next Gen InfraCo NGIC, a newly created shared infrastructure company co-promoted by the government and a consortium of firms, including Ascend Digital, K-NET, Radisys, Nokia, Tech Mahindra, AT Ghana, and Telecel Ghana.
The collaborative effort is expected to deliver cost-effective 5G services across the country, ensuring broader access to next-generation mobile connectivity.
As part of the shared network model, mobile network operators will lease capacity from Next Generation Infrastructure Company (NGIC), thus sharing network operational costs rather than investing in separate projects. The move is also meant to spread costs more equitably and reduce service prices for users, as well as ensure nationwide rollout outside of commercially viable urban centres.
“Affordability of the 5G network is another reason why we chose the shared network model, the network operators are the ones who will be delivering or transmitting the service to their subscribers and they do not have to worry about the capital expenditure costs of actually building the network, because it has already been built All they need to worry about is their operating expenditure, and so that in itself should be able to deliver cost savings to the end-user who is the subscriber,” the minister said.
