Minister for Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, says Ghanaian households and businesses are now getting significantly more data for less money following engagements between the government and mobile network operators.

Speaking on Monday, September 7, 2026, at the Government Accountability Series at the Jubilee House in Accra, Sam George said the government had negotiated directly with mobile network operators to secure better value for consumers.

“I engaged directly with the chief executives of our mobile network operators, and that engagement bore fruit,” he said.

According to him, MTN increased the data volumes on its bundles by 15 per cent, while Airtel and Telecel increased theirs by 10 per cent.

“Meaning every Cedi a Ghanaian spends on mobile data now buys significantly more,” he said.

Sam George said the government had extended the intervention beyond mobile data to fixed broadband services, resulting in major price reductions.

“We did not stop at mobile. Following further engagement with industry this year, MTN cut its fibre broadband prices by 70 per cent,” he said.

He said MTN’s 800 Mbps unlimited package had been reduced from GH¢987 to GH¢299 a month, while the company had introduced new 300 Mbps and 500 Mbps tiers for households and businesses requiring different levels of service.

“That represents an almost GH¢600 saving per month for Ghanaian families and households and businesses,” he said.

Sam George also cited revisions by Telecel to its fixed-data prices earlier in the year, saying the changes had resulted in “remarkable reductions” for its customers.

“Ghanaian families and enterprises are today getting more data dramatically on both their phones and their fixed lines for less money than they paid a year ago,” he said.

‘Negotiating for the Ghanaian customer’

The minister said the developments demonstrated a shift in the approach of the Ministry of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations towards the telecommunications industry.

“This is a return of a ministry that understands this industry from the inside and negotiates on behalf of the Ghanaian customer, not on behalf of the operators,” he said.

He, however, acknowledged that affordability was only one part of the telecommunications challenge, with network quality and coverage remaining concerns for many users.

“But in all of this, we are not oblivious to the challenges on the network and the quality of service,” Mr George said.

He said the ministry, working through the sector regulator, had taken steps to expand connectivity and digital infrastructure.

“None of our digital ambitions are possible without connectivity,” he said, adding that the government remained candid about the network congestion and coverage gaps still experienced by many Ghanaians.

‘Legacy of nearly a decade’

Mr George attributed the challenges to what he described as years of inadequate policy and regulatory attention as Ghana's telecommunications sector evolved from a voice-driven market to one increasingly driven by data.

“But let's be clear, this is a legacy of nearly a decade in which policy and regulation failed to keep pace with a country's shift from a voice-driven market to a data-driven economy,” he said.

“For almost 10 years, next to little was demanded of operators by way of policy or regulation to match that shift with investment.”

He said the government could not reverse the challenges accumulated over several years within a single year but maintained that significant steps had already been taken through the regulator.

“We cannot fix a decade of neglect in one year, but considerable steps have been made through the regulator,” he said. “We are correcting that anomaly.”