• Ghana recorded 8,578 fibre cuts through August, with road construction accounting for 49% of the reported damage
  • The government plans an NCA-led process requiring road agencies and contractors to contact telecom operators before excavation begins

The fact

Ghana recorded 8,578 fibre cuts between January and August 2026, with road construction responsible for 49% of the reported damage, Communications Minister Samuel Nartey George said on 7 September. Illegal mining accounted for 25%, while private developments and other activities made up the remaining 26%.

The government and mobile operators are expected to spend about US$20 million this year repairing damaged fibre. George cited a 17-hour disruption on the Winneba-Mankessim route and other incidents in which road works damaged network infrastructure.

To reduce excavation-related cuts, the government is developing a coordination framework through the National Communications Authority. Road agencies and contractors would contact telecom operators before digging so that fibre routes can be identified and protected or relocated where necessary. The government is also considering fibre chambers alongside roads and penalties for damage. The reported measures are still being developed and are not yet an established national operating process.

The assessment

The proposed process changes when fibre damage is dealt with. Instead of discovering a buried cable after excavation has started, a contractor would contact the network operator beforehand. That gives the operator time to identify the route, agree how it will be protected or relocated and flag a conflict before machinery reaches the site.

That only works if the notice comes early enough. Operators need accurate route information and someone able to respond, while contractors need to know whether work can continue when a fibre path remains uncertain. A contact list alone will not prevent a cut if the construction schedule is already fixed by the time the operator is involved.

For BTW readers, Ghana is targeting the largest reported source of its fibre damage, not every cause. Fewer cuts, shorter outages and lower repair costs on road projects using the process would show whether advance coordination is changing what happens before excavation begins.

What to watch

Watch for the NCA to publish the coordination framework, including notice periods, route-information responsibilities, penalties and cost-recovery rules. The first road projects using the process should then be tracked for fibre cuts, outage duration and repair costs. Those results will show whether advance checks are changing field operations rather than simply adding an administrative step.