Mobile users to receive compensation for network outages under new NCA rules
Mobile phone and broadband subscribers in Ghana are to receive compensation when network faults beyond their control leave them without service, under a scheme being developed by the National Communications Authority.
Communications Minister Samuel Nartey George said the regulator had been instructed to prepare guidelines for compensating affected customers and sanctioning telecommunications companies that failed to meet required service standards.
The scheme is among several measures the ministry intends to introduce before the end of 2026 amid increasing concerns about network outages and damage to Ghana’s telecommunications infrastructure.
“I’ve tasked the regulator with preparing a framework for customer remediation and sanctions where operators fall short, to ensure that customers are given some benefit when they lose service,” Mr George said.
He announced the plan at the Government Accountability Series in Accra on Monday, September 7.
The minister did not explain how compensation would be calculated, whether it would take the form of airtime, data or cash, or which categories of subscribers would qualify.
He also did not provide an exact date for the scheme to begin or state whether customers would have to submit claims.
More than 8,000 fibre cuts
The announcement follows thousands of fibre cuts that have disrupted mobile phone and internet services across Ghana.
Mr George said more than 8,000 fibre cuts had been recorded in 2026, including almost 4,300 by the end of June.
He put the cost of repairing the damage at more than $20m (£14.8m), with road construction, particularly projects under the government’s Big Push programme accounting for about half of the incidents.
Illegal mining, widely known as galamsey, and construction by private and estate developers caused the remaining damage, he said.
The minister cited a 17-hour disruption along the Winneba-Mankessim road, a 19-hour outage in the Ho-Ziope area and a nine-hour outage between Hwediem and Goaso.
He said all three incidents resulted from fibre-optic cables being damaged during road excavation.
Operators will not be blamed for every outage
The NCA will also revise its quality-of-service guidelines to distinguish between failures caused by network operators and disruptions resulting from third-party damage.
Mr George said this would prevent telecommunications companies from being sanctioned for outages caused by external parties damaging their infrastructure.
The distinction could also determine whether customers qualify for compensation, although the minister did not set out how responsibility would be established under the proposed rules.
The NCA is expected to finalise guidelines for coordinating road excavation and introduce penalties aimed at recovering the cost of damage to telecommunications infrastructure.
A joint memorandum between the communications and roads ministries on a proposed “Dig Once” policy has passed the Cabinet Committee stage and is expected to go before the full Cabinet this week.
Under the proposal, contractors would be required to install chambers for fibre infrastructure alongside newly constructed roads. The policy is intended to reduce repeated road excavation and the resulting damage to cables.
Power failures worsen disruptions
Mr George said instability in Ghana’s electricity supply had also contributed to network outages.
He cited a fire at Akosombo which, according to him, removed close to 60% of the national grid’s capacity.
He also referred to floods in parts of Greater Accra where the power supply was deliberately switched off to prevent electrocution, while backup generators at several mobile network sites were submerged.
The minister said the NCA also planned to complete the assignment of 5G spectrum and launch an online licensing and payment portal before the end of the year.