As frustrations over slow internet speeds and unstable mobile networks continue to grow across Ghana, tech analyst and IT consultant Barnabas Nii Laryea is calling for a major rethink of the country’s 5G rollout structure.
He maintains that the current exclusivity arrangement surrounding NextGen Infraco may be slowing the very digital transformation it was designed to accelerate.
According to the analyst, Ghana’s challenge now goes beyond building more cell towers or protecting fibre optic cables from vandalism. Rather, the bigger issue may be the centralized and exclusive framework under which the country’s next-generation 5G infrastructure is being deployed.
He argues that the exclusivity clauses within the NextGen arrangement should be reviewed or redesigned to allow existing telecom operators to independently deploy and operate 5G infrastructure themselves instead of relying solely on a centralized infrastructure provider.
“Beyond building more cell sites, safeguarding Fibre infrastructure etc. which the Minister rightly highlighted, Ghana must urgently revisit the exclusivity structure surrounding the 5G rollout,” he noted.
“Competition Drives Speed”
For him, as economists indicate, competition accelerates innovation. Barnabas Nii Laryea believes Ghana’s current model may unintentionally be slowing deployment because telecom operators with existing technical capacity and nationwide infrastructure are unable to roll out full-scale 5G services directly at the pace they potentially could.
In his view, operators such as MTN Ghana already possess the infrastructure base, subscriber network, engineering expertise, and market incentives needed to rapidly expand high-speed connectivity if given more deployment flexibility.
He cannot, therefore, fathom why what could potentially be activated quickly for millions of users is instead being subjected to a slower infrastructure integration process where operators must wait to connect to a centralized framework still under development.
“The exclusivity clauses within the NextGen Infraco arrangement should be reviewed or redrawn to allow existing telecom operators to directly participate in 5G deployment by themselves. SOMETHING THAT MTN CAN TURN IT ON THIS AFTERNOON FOR 21MILLION GHANAIANS TO ENJOY IS NOW BEING BUILT BY THE DAY FOR MTN TO GO AND CONNECT INTO… (NOT SMART),” he bluntly stated.
He added, “Competition drives speed. Competition drives investment. Competition drives innovation.”
The Bottomline
The debate surrounding Ghana’s 5G strategy is increasingly evolving into a larger policy conversation about exclusivity versus competition.
The concern is that if deployment under one structure progresses more slowly than market demand, the entire country’s digital advancement could lag behind.
Barnabas Nii Laryea’s recommendation ultimately reflects a growing view within sections of the technology industry: that Ghana’s digital future may require a more open, flexible, and competitive infrastructure approach.
