The Minister of Communication and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has assured that Mobile Telephone Network (MTN), a telecom giant company in Ghana, is part of the 5G rollout strategy contrary to popular public assertions.
Following the government’s announcement of its 5G rollout plans on May 30, 2024, industry experts have since raised questions over the monopolization, opaque process and the alleged exclusion of MTN from the 5G infrastructure.
However speaking in the media on June 24, 2024, the Minister dismissed the allegations of MTN’s deliberate exclusion, labelling those accusations as a false alarm and without merit.
“I don’t know who created that impression. Somebody threw it out there, and nobody spoke to me or any of those involved in putting this consortium together before spreading this false alarm. It is not true,” Owusu-Ekuful said.
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She added that MTN will have a role to play in the 5G rollout, although the timing is yet to be determined.
“Discussions are ongoing. All network operators in the country are being offered the opportunity to take up equity in this Next-Gen InfraCo, all of them, including MTN,” she said.
The 5G consortium, known as Next-Gen InfraCo (NGIC) currently comprises Ascend Digital, K-NET, Radisys, Nokia, Tech Mahindra, AT Ghana, and Telecel Ghana.
This consortium will be responsible for implementing 5G network infrastructure across Ghana, with the goal of providing affordable and widespread 5G access to the country’s population.
