Vice President of IMANI Africa, Selorm Branttie, has described the newly revised mobile data bundle values as a welcome relief for consumers but warned of potential long-term consequences for telecom providers.
Speaking on Morning Starr on Starr 103.5FM with Naa Dedei Tettey on Wednesday, June 11, Mr. Branttie acknowledged the positive impact the change will have on individuals and small businesses that rely heavily on affordable data access.
However, he cautioned against pushing telecom operators beyond their financial limits.
He further noted that while Ghana already enjoys some of the lowest data costs in Africa, pushing prices down further could undermine the quality of service and delay infrastructure expansion.
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Mr. Branttie stated, “However, it also sets forth a very dangerous path because by also coercing companies who have their own internal cost structures to reduce pricing it might sometimes or in certain cases aspect the ability of some of these organizations to be able to deliver the services right, especially if they are not making a lot of money or they are running at a loss. So we have to be careful how we make some of these demands because these are also businesses that have expenses and already, we have some of the lowest cost of data in Africa and therefore pushing it too much or beyond a certain point also have the detrimental effect of reducing the ability of some of these companies to actually expand and add more quality to some of the services. And so as consumers, we also need to understand that the data is not like the air (4:33) It’s not as free as the although it’s invisible and we don’t see it. It also comes at the cost to the companies that have put in the infrastructure to deploy..”
His remarks follow the announcement by Minister for Communications, Samuel Nartey George, on Tuesday, June 10, that effective July 1, 2025, mobile network operators will adjust their data bundle offerings to provide between 10% and 15% more value to consumers.
The policy shift comes after widespread complaints—especially from the youth—regarding high data costs.
Speaking at a press briefing in Accra, the Minister explained that the revised data packages were the result of extensive consultations with telecom providers.
He acknowledged that while there may be slight price increases, the overall benefit will be improved data volume and value, aligned with the digital needs of modern users.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/Hamdia Mohammed
