Ghana plans neutral infrastructure company for nationwide 4G and 5G services

Ghana’s Minister of Communication and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has announced that the government has given the green light for a neutral shared infrastructure company to provide nationwide 4G and 5G services. This step aims to assist service providers in expanding their coverage to rural areas and support the government’s digitalisation goals. She made this announcement during the 12th African Peering and Interconnection Forum hosted by MainOne.

In the context of telecommunications, a neutral shared infrastructure typically refers to the physical networks components like cell towers, fibre-optic cables, or data centres that multiple telecommunications carriers or service providers share. This shared infrastructure is ‘neutral’ in that it is designed to provide services to all participating carriers or providers equally, without giving any one of them preferential treatment.

In an interview, the minister explained that the government will facilitate the necessary infrastructure for service providers to expand 4G networks, covering 80% of Ghana’s population.

‘We have recently received approval for a neutral shared infrastructure approach. We will collaborate with network operators and private investors to establish comprehensive 4G and 5G networks. Instead of conducting a 5G auction, we are providing this network to operators, allowing them to extend coverage to around 80% of the population,’ she stated.