Sam George Describes NGIC’s Announcement Of 5G Network Rollout As “Unfortunate” And “Misleading”

The Minister for Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George has said that the March 3, 2026 announcement by NextGen Infraco (NGIC) that it had rolled out 50 4G/5G cell sites ready for commercial operations is “unfortunate” and “misleading”.

NGIC on March 3, 2026 announced that it has received clearance from the National Communications Authority (NCA) to commence commercial 5G operations on the back of the 50 sites it had readied in part of the country.

But speaking in an exclusive interview with Techfocus24 at the ongoing Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona, the Minister noted that whereas the National Communications Authority (NCA) had confirmed that NGIC had made 49 sites ready for 5G operations, the number is not enough to be described as a rollout of a 5G network.

According to him, out of the 49 sites NGIC has readied, 43 are in the Greater-Accra Region alone, two in the Ashanti Region, and one site each in the Bono, Northern, Western, and Central regions.

“That cannot be called a rollout,” he quipped. “Anybody who understands what it means to roll out a network knows that 49 sites is literally just a district.”

For perspective, the Minister said Greater-Accra alone houses over 1,600 cell sites from all mobile network operators (MNOs) combined, adding that 49 sites is not even enough to serve the capital, much less the country.

The Minister said the regulator will soon be issuing a statement to clarify the issue on government’s position on the “unfortunate” and unexpected announcement by NGIC.

Default in License Obligation

Sam George noted that NCA has written to NGIC about being in default of their license obligation as a result of failure to pay their license fee since September last year, and they are risking losing their license if they do not make payment anytime soon.

So far NGIC has paid only US$6 million to the regulator, and they have agreed to pay another US$6 million for which they have asked for restructuring.

“We have held back for so long and for them to make this announcement at a time when government has announced that we are going to auction spectrum for 5G, in an attempt to rattle the market is actually not a very smart way of dealing with the regulator, especially when you are in default of your licensing obligation,” the Minister stated.

Sam George said NGIC has obligation to rollout at least 350 sites by the third anniversary of their license, and that will cost way more than the US$6 million they have defaulted in paying since September last year.

He said, it was for public interest that government opted to auction fresh spectrum for 5G to ensure wider coverage within a short time, adding that the target is to reach 70% coverage by March 2027, when Ghana turns 70.

Rolling out together 

The policy direction, according to the minister, is to ensure that every network in Ghana rolls out 5G together on the same day, to prevent the unfortunate situation that occurred with the rollout of 4G in 2015, when one player went ahead of the market and that resulted in the skewed structure of the market, which eventually resulted in the emergence of the significant market power (SMP).

“We will have a big national launch to announce the rollout on the same day,” he stated.

National Roaming and No Arbitrage

He said, even ahead of the 5G spectrum auction, government has directed the regulator to pursue a massive national roaming agenda to ensure that by the time 5G is rolled out together, all operators can depend on each other to provide connectivity for each other’s customers across the country.

Sam George explained that as part of as licensing condition for 5G spectrum, each player will sign on to a national roaming policy, that will enjoin each of them to wait for at least six months for the others to get their license and ready their networks for the joint rollout.

He explained further that once an operator rolls out, they are enjoined to allow all other networks to also connect to their 5G sites across the country as part of the national roaming policy.

“We have also made it clear that no operator will be allowed to create an arbitrage by creating a price disparity between on-net and off-net service. Every service, whether to your own customers or to the customers of other networks must be offered at the same price,” he said.

Flexible Spectrum Pricing

Sam George also stated that the pricing of the spectrum to be auction will be flexible, given that there is an SMP in the market.

He explained the the price of spectrum sold to the SMP will not be the same as what it sold to the smaller players, all in a bid to democratize the space with the view to driving investment.

Policy-driven Investments 

Speaking of driving investment, the Minister said the recent policy moves to grant technology neutrality and also boost the quality of service KPIs from 3% allowable default rate to 1%, the telcos have responded with very significant investments.

He noted that Telecel is for instance investing in about 350 cell sites to meet the KPIs, while MTN has also committed over US$350 million to roll out up to 800 cell sites for the same reason.

“This is a clear example of how policy can drive investment,” he said. “That is the kind of legacy I want to leave as a minister.”

The Minister believes under his leadership the sector is on a clear path to drive real development and expect every player to align with the new policy direction and not put themselves on the opposite side of the move.

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