Radisys Corp., a subsidiary of the Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd, is in discussions for possible partnership with Ghana’s newly-established infrastructure company, Next-Gen InfraCo (NGIC), aiming to improve mobile broadband access and advance Ghana’s 5G ambitions.
According to reports from Bloomberg, Radisys Corp. is positioned to provide critical network infrastructure, applications, and smartphones for NGIC’s initiatives.
NGIC, comprising seven partners alongside the Ghanaian government—such as Ascend Digital Solutions, K-NET, Radisys, Nokia, Tech Mahindra, AT Ghana, and Telecel Ghana—is focused on cementing its presence in the market. Ascend Digital Solutions and K-NET hold a combined majority stake of 55% in NGIC, with the Ghanaian government retaining 10% ownership, while local mobile operators and private investors hold the rest.
Securing exclusive rights to offer 5G services in Ghana for the next decade, NGIC’s license extends for 15 years.
Harkirit Singh, CEO of Ascend Digital Solutions and Smart Infraco, and Executive Director for NGIC, projects the company’s capital expenditure for the initial three years at US$145 million, underlining its dedication to providing affordable digital services in emerging markets.
“The company is based on a premise of building affordable digital services in emerging markets,” he says.
For Radisys Corp., a primary objective lies in delivering innovative connectivity solutions and expanding its global footprint. Venturing into Africa, the company faces formidable competition from Bharti Airtel. Despite Airtel’s established foothold, Reliance Jio aims to leverage its strengths to assert dominance across continents.
Ghana’s telecommunications landscape, dominated by infrastructure companies, CSquared and Vobiss, as well as other players such as MTN Ghana, Vodafone Ghana, and AirtelTigo, is experiencing transformative shifts. With NGIC’s entry and plans for 5G rollout, the market anticipates increased competition and enhanced digital infrastructure, setting the stage for a dynamic and evolving telecommunications sector in the region.
NGIC will spearhead the construction of a nationwide 4G/5G network, collaborating with telcos to introduce affordable 4G/5G-enabled fixed wireless access (FWA) customer premises equipment (CPE) and smartphones in Ghana this year.
The partnership aims to revolutionize the lives of Ghanaians by introducing digital services in education, healthcare, and digital payment transactions through peer-to-peer (P2P), peer-to-merchant (P2M), and merchant-to-merchant (M2M) systems. This initiative is expected to reduce the digital divide and promote financial inclusion.
The multi-party collaboration will bolster NGIC in deploying comprehensive network infrastructure and related services. Communications service providers (CSPs) aim to cater to both enterprise and consumer markets with enhanced digital services.
NGIC intends to adopt India’s successful model of affordable handsets, digital platforms, and localized content and applications. The objective is to replicate this high-speed mobile data model across Africa, commencing with Ghana.
Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful said, “The creation of a shared 5G Mobile Broadband Infrastructure is critical for delivering affordable, high-speed data access to the people of Ghana and help achieve our Digital Ghana vision.”
She continued “We are inspired by India’s digital infrastructure and low-cost mobile data usage and keen to replicate it in Ghana.”
