MEDIA BRIEFING ON REGULATORY INTERVENTIONS BY THE MINISTRY OF
COMMUNICATION, DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATIONS
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen of the media.
Thank you for joining us today as we address two important matters currently engaging
the attention of my Ministry (MOCDTI) and the National Communications Authority, NCA.
These two key issues go to the heart of consumer protection, fairness, and the
sustainability of our digital and communications ecosystem. Today’s briefing will provide
clarity on the interventions taken, the decisions reached, and the way forward.
The first concerns the long-standing dispute between the creditors of AT Ghana Limited,
which has now escalated in the case of the tower company, ATC Ghana, into
disconnection of power telecom sites, resulting in loss of service with potential
implications for millions of subscribers. The Ministry and the NCA have taken proactive
regulatory steps to safeguard consumers and ensure stability in the telecoms sector.
1. Background
The current impasse between ATC and AT dates back to 2020. Since then, there have
been a series of meetings and exchanges of correspondence aimed at finding a lasting
solution to the non-payment of recurring charges and legacy debt by AT.
By a letter dated 2nd June 2020, ATC notified the NCA of its intention to suspend electrical
power supply to then Airtel Ghana Limited’s sites, including towers and equipment. The
NCA intervened at the time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Subsequently, several meetings were held in an attempt to ensure AT honoured its monthly
charges and settled the legacy debt. Unfortunately, these efforts were unsuccessful, and
the debt has continued to accumulate to in excess of US$150 million, leading to the
current situation.
2. Government of Ghana’s Acquisition of AT
In 2021, following the exit of Bharti Airtel from Ghana, the Government of Ghana acquired
the shares of AT for USD $1, in a bid to protect jobs and ensure the continuity of AT. The
propriety or otherwise of that decision is evident in the current state of affairs.
Following this acquisition, ATC began making demands on the Government for payment
of AT’s debts, with threats of shutting down AT’s sites if these demands were not met.
3. Current Situation
On 1st September 2025, ATC commenced the disconnection of power to AT’s radio
access networks across the country due to the outstanding debt.
To avoid a national crisis that could affect over three million subscribers of AT Ghana, the
NCA directed AT and Telecel to immediately establish national roaming, thereby
migrating AT’s traffic onto Telecel’s network to minimize disruption.
It is important to note that AT’s services i.e. voice, SMS, data, and AT Money — remain
intact. As Minister, I want to commend the exceptional skill and commitment shown by
the technical teams of AT Ghana and Telecel Ghana to pull off this integration under very
difficult circumstances. It reaffirms my belief that with the right policy direction, we have
the requisite technical expertise in the two companies to make a compelling case for the
Ghanaian engineers.
4. Expected Challenges
Some AT customers may experience limited challenges during the traffic migration,
though the majority of subscribers are unlikely to notice any disruption. The NCA and AT will issue timely communications to subscribers to address and resolve any concerns that may arise.
5. Future
Government has appointed KPMG as a transaction advisor to provide guidance on the
future of AT, with the goal of establishing a strong second operator to address the
imbalance in Ghana’s mobile market. The transaction advisor will also assess the government’s shareholding interests in Telecel Ghana towards the same goal. The transaction advisor has been given a strict 60-day timeline to complete its work due
to the urgency of the situation.
6. Future of Staff
The Government will ensure that the approximately 300 permanent staff of AT retain their
employment. I have already met with the staff and offered assurances in this regard. The
transaction advisor has instructions to also consider the fate of the over 200 contract
staff of AT. I am grateful to the staff of AT Ghana for their openess and candour during my
engagement with them. I am fully aware of the gravity of the current situation on the
workers and their families and dependants but I remain committed on behalf of the government to protect them from any adverse situation. We would see the sunshine
again, very soon.
Let me be clear that this current arrangement is not a merger or acquisition. We are
dealing with a force majeur situation and the work of the transaction advisor and its
recommendations would lay out a clear path for the consideration of Government.
7. Conclusion
Government urges all stakeholders, including subscribers, tower companies, and
creditors, to await the outcome of the transaction advisor’s work, which will provide
clarity on outstanding debts, services, and the future of AT. Now to the second issue relates to the pricing concerns and the suspension notice served to MultiChoice Ghana Ltd.
The 30-day deadline given to MultiChoice by the NCA expires tomorrow, 6th September
2025. It would be recalled that the NCA had requested for a breakdown of the cost build
up for the various bouquet offerings by MultiChoice in Ghana and in seven other African
countries on the 4th of August 2025. That information had not been delivered by
MultiChoice. Consequently, the Regulator imposed a GHS10,000 daily fine effective 14th
August 2025 in line with Electronic Communications Act. The regulator also served a 30-
day notice of suspension effective 7th August 2025.
However, ahead of the expiration of the suspension notice tomorrow, MultiChoice has
now indicated its commitment to addressing the pricing concerns through a consultative
process as was adopted by the Ministry for the mobile data pricing reduction which was
implemented on 1st July, 2025.
Decision
Consequently, I have established a Stakeholder Committee comprising representatives
from:
– The Ministry of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovation (MoCDTI)
– The National Authority (NCA)
– MultiChoice Ghana
– MultiChoice Africa
This Committee will be chaired by me.
Even though Multichoice requested for a further 30-days for the consultative process, I
can only grant them 14 days as I believe that is sufficient enough to agree on the
percentage of reduction. Therefore, the Committee has a strict 14-day mandate inclusive
of weekends to conclude its work and present a suitable price reduction structure for the
people of Ghana by 21st September, 2025.
Additional Note
Government is mindful of the impending takeover of MultiChoice Africa by Canal+ at the
end of September 2025. I have held engagements with Canal+, with emphasis placed on
the need to respect any pricing reduction decisions and to consider further reductions in
the future, if necessary. I have assurances from the management of Canal+ to respect the
outcome of the stakeholder committee and work with government to address revenue
losses occasioned by the grey market decoders.
Thank you.
