Sylvester Tetteh explains decision not to auction 5G network

Deputy Information Minister Sylvester Tetteh has explained that the government’s decision not to auction the contract for the rollout of its 5G network was made to achieve maximum benefit.

The Deputy Information Minister stated that the government opted to collaborate with active industry players, including Ascend Digital, K-NET, Radisys, Nokia, Tech Mahindra, and other telecommunication companies, based on previous experiences.

In an interview, the Bortianor Ngleshie-Amanfro MP noted that the special purpose vehicle created for this initiative is the best way to ensure a productive outcome.

“We auctioned our 4G in 2015 and till now, we have had only 15 percent penetration for 4G usage and mainly in the city centre, so the rest of the country where we are promoting digitalisation and inclusion has been left out of the 4G space. So if you have done this for nine years and you have attained only a 15 percent penetration rate, then there is a problem.

“Now we are going for 5G and are you going to auction it for the highest bidder or whoever qualifies to run it? The person picks it and plays off everybody from the industry, yet we don’t get the necessary benefit from the 5G. So the government says, no, we are not going to auction it, we will own part of it, and all the industry players should own part of it. So this special purpose vehicle was put together by all the industry players.”

Meanwhile, investigative journalist Manasseh Awuni Azure is calling on the government to produce evidence to support its claims regarding the decision not to auction the 5G network contract.

Source: Citi News