Ghanaians everywhere are asking one big question: why is data still so expensive? The answer is not simply “greedy telcos.” The truth is, the way our mobile networks are built makes costs very high — and those costs end up inside your bundle price. If Ghana wants cheaper data, we must change how our cell sites are run and shared.
The Real Price of a TowerMost of the towers you see across Ghana are not owned by MTN, Telecel, or AirtelTigo. They are leased from companies like American Tower Corporation (ATC) and Helios Towers.
Here’s the monthly cost of running a single tower:
Lease fee: $1,000–$2,000
Power (mostly diesel): $600–$800
Backhaul (link to the network): $300–$400
Security and maintenance: $200–$300
That means one tower can cost $2,500–$3,000 per month (≈ GHS 37,000). With thousands of towers across the country, operators are locked into fixed costs worth tens of millions of dollars every year.
This is why smaller companies like Surfline and Busy Internet collapsed. The bills were simply too high.
Duplication Without SenseIn cities like Kumasi or Takoradi, three different operators often lease three different towers to serve the same neighborhood. Customers don’t benefit from this duplication — but they pay for it in higher data prices.
Meanwhile, rural Ghana still lacks coverage because building three separate networks in low-income areas is not profitable for any operator.
The Small Cell AlternativeThere is a cheaper way. Instead of only using tall, expensive towers, operators can deploy small cells — smaller base stations on rooftops, lamp posts, and billboards.
The cost difference is huge:
Small cell rent: $200–$300 per month
Power: $150–$200 (often solar or grid)
Backhaul: $150–$200
Maintenance: $100–$150
Total ≈ $600–$850 per month — less than one-third the cost of a tower.
A single small cell can handle 5–6 TB of monthly data, enough to serve thousands of users in busy urban areas.
What the Numbers SayWe compared two scenarios:
Current Model (macro towers only): Data costs operators about $0.25 per GB (≈ GHS 3.70).
Mixed Model (60% small cells, 40% towers): Costs fall to $0.17 per GB (≈ GHS 2.50).
That’s a saving of 32% per GB.
Ghana Case Study: MTN and 1,000 Small CellsImagine if MTN — Ghana’s biggest operator — moved just 1,000 busy sites in Accra and Kumasi onto small cells:
Savings per site: About $1,800 (≈ GHS 26,500) per month compared to leasing a tower.
Savings for 1,000 sites: $1.8 million (≈ GHS 26.5 million) every month.
Savings per year: Over $21 million (≈ GHS 318 million).
That money could either:
Cut bundle prices by almost a third, or
Pay for hundreds of new rural sites to expand coverage.
The Minister’s OpportunityGhana’s Minister of Communications, Samuel Nartey George, has promised to reduce the cost of data. To achieve this, he must guide the industry toward real reforms:
Liberating small cells so telcos can deploy them without being trapped by tower leases.
Pushing operators to share RAN equipment instead of duplicating networks.
Working with the NCA to create a fair framework that protects competition but lowers costs.
These are tough conversations, but they are also the most effective path to real affordability.
Why It MattersIf costs drop by one-third:
A 10GB bundle that now costs GHS 100 could fall to GHS 68.
A student paying GHS 20 for 2GB could pay closer to GHS 13–14.
Rural Ghana could finally get connected without operators losing money.
The Bottom LineThe cost of data in Ghana is tied to towers, leases, and power. By freeing up small cells and sharing infrastructure, Ghana can cut costs by up to a third and make internet access truly affordable.
Minister Samuel Nartey George has a real chance to lead this shift. If Ghana embraces it, his promise to make data cheaper won’t just be talk — it will be the policy that changed our digital future.
Sources:
Tower Costs & Leasing ModelAmerican Tower Corporation (ATC) Ghana acquisition: ATC acquired ~4,700 towers from MTN Ghana in 2011 for $428 million, under a sale-and-leaseback model. Operators typically pay $1,000–$2,000 per tower per month in Africa.
Source: American Tower Corporation Press Release, 2011
American Tower Investor Relations
GSMA: “The Economics of Tower Sharing in Sub-Saharan Africa,” 2019.
Power and OPEX at SitesDiesel costs and power make up 40–50% of tower OPEX in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Source: GSMA & IFC, “The Economics of Mobile Network Energy”, 2020.
Ecofin Agency (2022): ATC cut power to Surfline and Busy Ghana sites over unpaid energy bills.
Surfline & Busy CollapseATC cut off Surfline Ghana and Busy Ghana sites due to non-payment, contributing to their collapse.
Source: Ecofin Agency, July 2022
TechLabari: “Surfline Ghana Folding Up and Exiting Market,” 2022.
Data Pricing in AfricaGhana’s average data price ≈ $0.94/GB vs Nigeria $0.50 and Kenya $0.38.
Source: Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) – 2023 Affordability Report.
Small Cell EconomicsRooftop small cell deployments in Sub-Saharan Africa cost ~$600–$1,000 per month vs $2,500–$3,000 for macro towers. Capacity ~5–6TB/month.
Source: GSMA Infrastructure Sharing Reports, 2018–2021.
TowerXchange: “Small Cell Economics in Emerging Markets,” 2021.
Cost Modeling (Ghana Case Study)Scenario analysis ($0.25/GB vs $0.17/GB) based on OPEX benchmarks for macro towers vs small cells, incorporating power, backhaul, and leasing assumptions.
Modeled internally using GSMA and IFC benchmarks.
Similar cost reduction scenarios are referenced in: GSMA, “Unlocking Rural Coverage Through RAN Sharing”, 2020.
Policy & Regulatory ContextCalls for RAN sharing and active sharing in Ghana reflect global practice:
MORAN/MOCN models in India, Indonesia, and Kenya.
Source: ITU Report on Network Sharing, 2020.
Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications statements on infrastructure costs (2019–2022).
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