Good afternoon, my fellow Ghanaians, distinguished members of the media, Chief
Director and Directors of the Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology and
Innovations, the Management of the National Communications Authority, CEOs of
Scancom Ghana Ltd, Ghana Telecommunications Company Ltd and Airtel-Tigo Ghana.
We are gathered here today on a matter of great national importance – the price, value
and quality of data services in our beloved Country. In today’s digitally connected world,
access to affordable and reliable internet is no longer a luxury but a necessity.
The Ministry is aware of this and has initiated a consultative process aimed at achieving
a lasting approach to correcting the misalignment and distortion in the telecommunications sector over the past eight years.
Let the facts be stated clearly here. This is not a blame game, but instead, setting the
record straight.
There has been some agitation about the cost and quality of services by mobile network
operators. We inherited a sector that was in a state of comatose. This is not an allegation.
The NDC handed over a sector in 2017 with six thriving telecom operators and four local
BWAs offering 4G services to the Ursula Owusu-led Ministry. I inherited a sector after
eight years that had one SMP, one loss-making MNO and another MNO that had been
brought to its knees. Three of the MNOs and the 4 BWAs had folded.
The sector had experienced a sharp decline in growth and investment, and the Regulator
had been essentially on autopilot. It is, therefore, shocking to see proponents of the
outgone government being the loudest trumpeters of the challenges they have created. I
am told it is a carefully curated art of dark politics called jandam. It is an attempt to create
a false narrative, not based on facts but built on distortion and aimed at disseminating
disinformation. That scheme has failed.
I have been at post for four months and have set to work vigorously in collaboration with
the Regulator, CEOs, and other stakeholders to fashion a clear roadmap for the systemic
resolution of the challenge. I am not interested in cosmetic fixes that merely paper over
the deep cracks, creating an illusion of resolution only to push the can further down the
road. I have learnt from the former Communications Minister and now President, H.E.
John Dramani Mahama, to embrace the challenge, diagnose it rightly and work towards
a lasting solution.
In my first month as Minister, I established the 23-member Data Pricing Review
Committee with a clear 14-day mandate to develop a roadmap for implementation. The
Committee, in its report, distinguished the three areas that we believe need to be
addressed for a holistic resolution of the matter – value, pricing, and quality. I referred
the report to the Regulator and tasked them with crafting regulatory policies that address
the challenges in the sector.
In my second month, the Regulator, after engaging with the Mobile Network Operators,
came up with proposals that curated specialised bundle solutions for tertiary students
and content creators. We immediately set out to build a dynamic database for the two
demographics. I had a meeting with all Vice Chancellors in the Country to design a
framework that allowed the networks to identify which numbers were used by tertiary
students. However, I took a policy decision to truncate the process and reengage the
stakeholders to achieve a broader solution that affected all Ghanaian data users.
In my third month, these engagements led to a focus on the structural challenges that
the networks were facing in delivering their services. As indicated earlier, we had our eyes
not just on the value and pricing of data bundles but on the quality of service delivery. I
am sure that even with increased value or reduced pricing if quality is not improved, we
will still have a sour customer experience. This led to the Regulator commissioning and
completing an assessment of a sample size of network performance in 3G and 4G service
offerings across the Country—the results of which I discussed with the CEOs and the
media two weeks ago.
In my fourth month, armed with a clear picture of where we are as a sector, I tasked the
CEOs to work with me to improve the quality of service and to offer enhanced data
bundles. Now, let me be clear. As Minister, my mandate in a free market economy does
not extend to interfering in the pricing by private sector investors. Just like the Minister for
Trade does not have the power to direct GUTA members to drop their prices unilaterally,
the Communication Minister cannot unilaterally direct price reductions.
The immediate retort would be, ‘But you accused your predecessor of being responsible
for price increases.’ Yes. The SMP toolkit is replete with several policy directions that are
not directly price directives but cumulatively have an effect on pricing. A decision to have
CST collected forward, for example, would result in a pricing increase. Additionally, the
decision to declare MTN as an SMP and implement tariff rationalisation resulted in an
effective price increase by the operator, which the customers bore. However, these
actions, which were not adequately implemented, led to a situation where the SMP has
grown by over 10% in market share, accompanied by quality of service issues due to
network configuration and congestion.
To address the quality of service issue, I presented a memorandum to the cabinet aimed
at making spectrum available to Messrs Scancom Ghana Ltd and Ghana
Telecommunications Company Ltd. The process of the spectrum sale is scheduled to be
completed by the end of the first week of July. In the case of Ghana Telecommunications
Company Ltd, I have given additional policy approval for the Regulator to grant a
connecting entity license, enabling the operator to optimise service using the 2100MHz
spectrum at the disposal of NGIC. This should result in a significant improvement in the
quality of service and customer experience in the coming weeks.
I want to reiterate my commitment to an engagement-led style of leadership that involves
all my stakeholders, listens to their challenges, and works to address them in a manner
that benefits the entire ecosystem. We need intense competition in the sector, but it
must be healthy and sustainable. I am committed to value-added data bundle offerings,
and most importantly, these policy actions will culminate in price reductions.
However, the recovery from eight years of mismanagement cannot be completed in four
months.
To this end, I have mandated that all operators make critical investments in their
networks to improve quality over the next quarter (July-September). The Regulator would
commence a rigorous quality of service assessment in the final quarter of the year
(October – December), and defaulting operators would be penalised. I commend the
CEOs for their pledged commitments to collectively invest approximately US$150 million
in their networks between now and the end of the year to enhance network quality.
I am pleased to announce that my engagements with the CEOs have resulted in the
following specific measures, which are to take effect on Tuesday, 1st July 2025.
Airtel Tigo Ghana (AT Ghana)
– A 10% increase in all data bundles currently offered by the network.
– The GHS400 bundle, which currently offers 195GB to offer 236GB
Ghana Telecommunications Company Ltd (Telecel Ghana)
– A 10% increase in all data bundles currently offered by the network.
– The GHS400 bundle, which currently offers 190GB to offer 250GB
Scancom Ghana Ltd (MTN Ghana)
– A 15% increase in all data bundles currently offered by the network.
– The restoration of the GHS399 Social Media bundle, which currently offers
27GB, to offer 214GB to replace the GH350 Flexi bundle, which offers 92GB
I am aware these increases are coming at a considerable cost to the network operators.
However, I am glad that through our engagements, they have pledged their continued
fidelity to their customers – the people of Ghana. The implementation date of 1st July is
to allow the networks to recalibrate and configure their systems to reflect the agreedupon value increases. The Regulator is also directed to ensure they monitor strict
implementation of these directives.
The changes on MTN are steeper than the two other operators, but this is simply a result
of their SMP status. The Ministry is committed to continuing to work with the Regulator
and MTN to constantly review their SMP status and make the necessary adjustments
once we achieve the market realignment we seek with these measures.
It has also come to my notice that there is a public call regarding the arbitrary change in
data prices by the Operators. Let me state for the record that the facts do not support
that claim. The National Communications Authority has a billing verification system to
assess the billing integrity of mobile data services. The NCA reports that in the last billing
integrity test conducted on mobile data bundles for MTN, Telecel and AT in Q3 of 2024, it
was found that:
1. All data bundles purchased during the test period were correctly credited and
remained intact throughout their validity, with no unexpected data loss.
2. Non-expiry data bundles did not expire.
3. All unused data bundles were rolled over after re-subscription.
The NCA is hereby directed to conduct billing integrity tests for data services and to
provide quarterly reports to the Ministry. The NCA must check data billing for scenarios
involving popular apps and websites. If operators are found to be billing inaccurately,
appropriate sanctions shall be applied.
In conclusion, I am confident we will see further drops in actual prices of the offerings
when the Finance Ministry takes action on the tax handles in the sector. I am continuing
my engagements with the Honourable Finance Minister to get his approval for the
rationalisation of some components in the tax build-up. Another area I am vigorously
pursuing is with the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition and the Public Utilities
Regulatory Commission (PURC). If we are granted a Telecom tariff for the sector, it would
lead to further price drops for offerings currently available.
I remain committed to delivering on the mandate of the Ministry as entrusted into my care
by His Excellency the President. I would continue to engage robustly with stakeholders
in the sector to protect their investments in Ghana and encourage them to invest more;
ultimately, my heart is with the people of Ghana. I would serve you with heart, sweat and
blood and fix the mess I inherited at the Ministry. So help me, God.
Thank you for your attention, and God bless our homeland, Ghana.
