The Government has given Next Generation Infrastructure Company (NGIC) a fourth quarter deadline to roll out high-speed 5G internet service, or have its licence reviewed.
The company has already missed two deadlines of November 2024 and June 2025 to roll out the service.
However, a new date of quarter four of 2025 has been set for the roll out of the service.
Addressing a news conference in Accra, on Thursday, Mr Samuel Nartey George, Minister of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovation, warned that the government would not extend agreed time line.
He also warned that government would take a decisive action, including renegotiating the license terms if the company missed the new implementation date.
“Let me declare, we have agreed with NGIC that there will be no further extensions to this rollout deadline. If the company fails to meet the Q4 deadline commitment, the ministry will immediately initiate a review and possible renegotiation of the license term.” Mr George said.
The Minister, however, acknowledged the progress made so far towards the realisation of the initiative, indicating that, the NGIC had deployed 16 5G ready sites and received full approval from the National Communications Authority for its core network infrastructure.
With the new take off date set for quarter four, Mr George said, the company was expected to deploy at least 50 live 5G sites in Accra and Kumasi within the stipulated timeframe.
“We have set a final deadline of Q4 2025, where at least 50 live 5G sites are expected in Accra and Kumasi,” he said, adding; “These milestones reflect meaningful progress following earlier delays in 2024.”
The 5G service has been described as the Fifth Generation of Wireless Technology, which offers higher internet speed, higher upload and download speed, with more consistent connections and improved capacity.
5G networks run on the same radio frequencies as their predecessors, 3G, 4G and 4G LTE networks, which previously served most mobile phones worldwide.
Mr George said: “The national rollout model is a deliberate policy shift to reduce infrastructure duplication, lower data costs, and accelerate universal 5G access for all Ghanaians.”
He added that the Ministry was working closely with Next-Gen to ensure transparency, efficiency, and customer value at every stage.