Ghana’s Communications Minister has overhauled the government’s approach to enforcing telecoms quality standards, replacing the traditional fines model with a policy of compulsory infrastructure investment, a move he says will deliver tangible benefits to consumers for the first time.
Samuel Nartey George, Minister for Communications, Digital Technology and Innovation, disclosed at a media engagement marking the launch of the first phase of the government’s One Million Coders Programme that MTN Ghana and Telecel Ghana have committed to building a combined 1,150 new cell sites in 2026 alone, as an alternative to paying fines for recent quality of service breaches.
Under the previous regulatory arrangement, the National Communications Authority (NCA) collected fines from telecoms operators that failed to meet quality of service Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and retained those funds, with subscribers receiving no direct benefit. When the NCA moved to fine the two operators for the latest breaches, the Minister intervened with a different approach.
“As a result of that policy directive Telecel Ghana is now building 350 new sites this year alone, and MTN Ghana initially announced that they were going to build 500 new cell sites, but I met with the Group Chief Executive Officer at Mobile World Congress and I told him that MTN Ghana is a Significant Market Player and they therefore needed to do better,” George said. “So he agreed to add 300 more sites to make a total of 800 in one year.”
The scale of MTN Ghana’s commitment stands out when measured against the company’s own historical record. Over the last ten years, MTN Ghana built an average of 223 cell sites per year, with its highest single-year total reaching 352 sites in both 2017 and 2019. In 2024 and 2025, the figure dropped to just 30 and 50 sites respectively. The 800 sites committed for 2026 represents nearly four times the decade-long annual average.
The policy shift also reflects a tightening of the regulatory framework. The Ministry directed the NCA to raise quality of service KPIs from an allowable breach rate of 3 percent to just 1 percent, a change the Minister describes as a deliberate mechanism to compel network investment rather than simply penalise shortfalls.
George signalled the same philosophy during the Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona earlier this year, telling reporters he considered bonded infrastructure investment a more efficient and consumer-focused tool than fines, which had historically enriched the regulator without improving services on the ground.
The Minister said Ghanaians should expect to see a noticeable improvement in network quality within the coming months as both operators accelerate their rollout programmes.
