The Minister of Communication and Digitalization, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has indicated that government has approved the establishment of a neutral shared infrastructure company to deliver nationwide 4G and 5G services.

According to her, the move is to help service providers extend their services to the rural areas and help government achieve its digitalization agenda. She was speaking at the 12th edition of the African Peering and Interconnection forum hosted by MainOne.

As demand for digital services in Africa increases, businesses are forced to create new sources of value and effectively scaling their digital infrastructure.

The African Peering and Interconnection forum hosted by MainOne focused on trends emerging in the industry.

In an interview, Mr. Owusu-Ekuful said government will provide the infrastructure for service providers to extend 4G networks to 80 percent of Ghana’s population.

“We have just been granted approval to have a neutral shared infrastructure along this lines, we’ll be working with network operators and private investors to set up a 4G and 5G network as well, so we are not going to be auctioning 5G, we are giving it to this networks so that all operators can use it and extend it to about 80% of the population”, she mentioned.

The Minister also reiterated government’s commitment towards building a digital economy, adding that significant investments in connectivity have laid a good foundation for a thriving ecosystem.

The Country Manager of MainOne, Emmanuel Kwarteng added that the forum is aimed at harnessing the power of the internet and driving innovation for economic development.

Internet service providers were urged to collaborate and address gaps in efforts being made to promote internet traffic locally.

MainOne, an Equinix Company has built and operated a network of Tier 111 data center facilities strategically located in Ghana, Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire, enabling one of the largest and most dynamic West Africa’s digital ecosystem.