CUTS International has urged AirtelTigo and Telecel to scale up investment in their infrastructure as a necessary condition to leveling the playing field in Ghana’s telecom market. The call comes in the wake of the government’s directive for all telcos to improve network quality within the next quarter.
Appiah Adomako Kusi, West Africa Regional Director of CUTS International, criticized the lack of capital expenditure by the two smaller telcos in recent years.
“One key issue is that AirtelTigo and Telecel for some years have not been investing in their craft,” he said in an interview with ABC News GH. “And MTN is benefiting from their investment.”
Kusi highlighted the structural imbalance this creates in the sector, warning that until AirtelTigo and Telecel improve their infrastructure, no real value will be derived from government interventions.
“Until they invest, we will not get any utility from those sectors,” he added.
His remarks come on the back of new government directives announced by the Minister of Communications, Hon. Sam George, who stated that telecom operators must undertake critical investments between July and September 2025, or face sanctions.
Kusi concluded, “Until we resolve those structural imbalances, we might come back to the same issue.”
