Ghana’s 5G spectrum deal raises dust, Ambani faces pushback

The involvement of Radisys Corp., a unit of Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries Ltd. in Ghana’s 5G spectrum acquisition has faced pushback from the National Democratic Congress, a minority caucus in the country’s parliament.

The minority expressed deep concern, citing a lack of transparency over the decision by the Ghanaian government to grant its 5G spectrum rights to Ambani’s Next Gen Infraco Company Limited for the next 10 to 15 years.

“After a preliminary study of the processes leading to this opaque transaction, the minority caucus takes the view that the Next Gen Infraco 5G deal is inimical to the national interest,” the caucus said in a statement obtained by The PUNCH on Tuesday.

This development comes two months after the Minister of Communication and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, announced that the country would launch 5G mobile technology in September 2024.

Under the terms of the deal, Next Gen Infraco Limited has been given exclusive rights to build, own, and operate the entire 5G infrastructure network across Ghana, a country of 33 million people.

The minority caucus contended that the deal with Next Gen Infraco was lacking fairness and transparency and did not go through the needed vetting process.

A more competitive process could have generated significantly higher returns for the country in the range of $400m to $500m, rather than the paltry sum of $125m payable over 10 years, the NDC stated.

Also, as part of the deal, Next Gen Infraco now has a monopoly over wholesale 5G mobile data and voice services in Ghana for the next decade.

The technology company would control substantial 62.5 per cent of every data/voice bundle package every mobile user buys, with only 7.5 per cent going to the government and 30 per cent for Mobile Network operators and Internet Service Providers.

The minority argued why the Ghanaian government would jettison all existing Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) such as MTN, AT, and TELECEL, and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the country, preventing them from offering data and voice services to their numerous customers nationwide without passing through Next Gen Infraco.

An email query by The Punch to Ghana’s Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation has yet to be responded to as of the time of filing this report.

Barely two weeks ago, the Indian billionaire announced that Radisys Corp., a unit of Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries Ltd., will provide network infrastructure, applications and smartphones for Ghana-based NGIC.

The company detailed its plan to begin operations by the end of the year, offering 5G broadband services to mobile operators and internet service providers in Ghana.

Further, the Ghanaian government, according to the caucus, did not get any parliamentary approval before awarding the contract to Next Gen Infraco Limited.

“This 5G spectrum transaction awarded to Next Gen Infraco Limited is a multi-year contract, hence subject to parliamentary approval per Section 33 of the Public Financial Management Act 2016 (Act 921).

“Unfortunately, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government is almost concluding this deal at the blindside of Parliament. This renders the entire transaction unlawful, null, void, and of no legal effect whatsoever,” the statement highlighted.

The NDC highlighted the involvement of entities with questionable track records in the consortium benefiting from the deal, suggesting potential cronyism and conflicts of interest.

“Some of the entities in the Consortium, which are the beneficiaries of this opaque transaction, are mushroom entities owned by cronies of President Akufo-Addo and the Minister for Communications, with questionable track records.

“As a matter of fact, some of these entities have been engaged by this same government in similar arrangements that have offered no value for money for the state.”

Nigeria has launched 5G services, beginning in 2022, with MTN Nigeria initiating commercial 5G operations in September in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Kano, Owerri, and Maiduguri.

Mafab Communications, another licensed operator, followed by launching its 5G services in January 2023, starting with Abuja and Lagos, and planning to expand to other cities.

Airtel Nigeria joined in June 2023 with its own 5G launch. The rollout is ongoing as operators continue to expand coverage and aim to increase penetration across the country. Punchng