By Benjamin Adamafio Commey, GNA
Accra, Sept. 7, GNA – The Government and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are expected to spend about US$20 million this year repairing damaged fibre infrastructure across the country.
The expenditure follows 8,578 fibre cuts recorded as of August 2026, with the number projected to reach about 9,000 by the end of the year if the current trend continued.
Mr Samuel Nartey George, Minister of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations, disclosed this on Monday at the Government’s Accountability Series in Accra, where he presented the Ministry’s performance from January to August 2026 and outlined measures to strengthen network resilience.
He said the cost of repairing damaged fibre infrastructure placed a significant financial burden on the telecommunications sector, noting that the funds could otherwise have been used to expand network capacity and improve connectivity.
”That’s money that without the fibre cut, we would have used to build new sites,” he said.
Mr George said fibre cuts had become one of the most persistent causes of network degradation in the country, affecting voice and data services even in areas with adequate network infrastructure.
He said road construction accounted for about 49 per cent of fibre cuts, while illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey, accounted for 25 per cent.
Private developers and other activities accounted for the remaining 26 per cent.
Mr George cited the Winneba-Mankessim road project, where a fibre cut resulted in a 17-hour service disruption affecting communities along the route through to Cape Coast.
He said another area experienced a 19-hour outage following fibre damage caused by road construction, while multiple fibre routes serving northern Ghana were cut within a two-hour period on one occasion, resulting in widespread service degradation
To address the problem, the Minister said the Government was developing a coordination framework through the National Communications Authority (NCA), which would require road agencies and contractors to engage telecommunications operators before excavation works commenced.
”We want to have this coordination framework through the NCA and the Ghana Highways Authority… to ensure that whenever a contractor is deployed to a site, he knows the call points to go to, to be advised on where fibre exists,” he said.
Mr George said the Government was also pursuing a policy requiring road construction projects to incorporate dedicated fibre chambers alongside roads to facilitate the identification, protection and relocation of fibre infrastructure.
“We will have a policy that allows for all road construction work to carry a fibre chamber alongside,” he said.
He said enforceable penalties would also be introduced for parties that failed to comply with the new framework.
Mr George also attributed network disruptions to instability in the national power grid and damage caused by flooding, explaining that several telecommunications sites depended on the national grid, with generators and batteries providing backup power.
He said the Government was pursuing a broader network resilience strategy while working with operators to expand coverage and upgrade ageing 2G and 3G infrastructure, particularly in rural communities.
The Minister said MTN Ghana had committed more than US$1.1 billion over the next three years, including about US$380 million this year, to expand coverage, deploy new sites and support the rollout of 5G.
”MTN alone is doing 800 new sites,” he stressed.
Mr George said that Telecel Ghana had increased its capital investment by 60 per cent over the 2023 to 2026 period compared with the preceding four years.
”As we speak, in fact, 1,890 have been completed out of a planned 2,698 for the year. We’ve seen 60% more investment in capital,” he added.
The Minister said the interventions were intended to ensure that increased access to digital services was matched by reliable and resilient telecommunications infrastructure.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey
Reporter: Benjamin Adamafio Commey
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