ACCRA, Ghana, 7th September: MTN Ghana is expected to build 800 new cell sites in 2026 as the government steps up efforts to address network congestion and coverage gaps across the country.
The Minister of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation, Sam Nartey George, said the investment formed part of a broader push to expand Ghana’s telecommunications infrastructure and respond to growing demand for data services.
Speaking at the Government Accountability Series at the Presidency, Sam George said MTN had initially planned to construct 500 new sites for the year, but the ministry engaged the company to increase the figure to 800.
He said 180 of the 800 sites were already active and carrying traffic.
According to the Ningo-Prampram lawmaker, the government’s decision was informed by the historically low rate of network expansion compared with the rapid growth in smartphone usage and demand for digital services.
He said Ghana had recorded only 209 new sites on average annually over the past decade, despite smartphone penetration increasing from 27.5 per cent to 71.8 per cent.
“This year, MTN alone is doing 800,” he said, stressing the need to close the infrastructure gap created over the years.
He also disclosed that Telecel Ghana had significantly increased its capital investment and was targeting the upgrade of 2,698 sites in 2026.
He said 1,890 of those sites had already been completed and upgraded to meet 4G requirements.
The Minister said the government was particularly focused on rural and peri-urban communities where network challenges had been more pronounced.
He explained that expanding coverage alone was no longer sufficient because many rural communities continued to depend on legacy 2G and 3G infrastructure.
According to him, the ministry, working with the NCA, GIFEC and mobile network operators, is prioritising the upgrade of aging infrastructure to 4G and 5G-capable systems.
He said the upgrades would also include the necessary fibre and microwave backhaul infrastructure to ensure that improved coverage translated into meaningful broadband access.
He said the objective was to ensure that rural communities could fully participate in digital agriculture, mobile banking, e-learning, telemedicine and other services that increasingly depended on high-speed internet.
He assured Ghanaians that the government would continue to monitor network expansion and report on improvements at the community level.
Story by: Emmanuel Romeo Tetteh(#RomeoWrites✍️)/ Presidential Affairs Correspondent | Ghana 🇬🇭
