ATC Ghana Triumphs in ICC Arbitration Against AT Ghana Over Tower Fees

Accra: Leading independent tower company in the country, American Tower Corporation (ATC) Ghana has prevailed in an international arbitration against the state-owned AT Ghana over unpaid fees for telecommunications tower services, according to sources close to the matter. This brings a formal closure to a contractual dispute that has shadowed Ghana's telecoms sector for several years. The case was heard before the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Court of Arbitration, one of the world's foremost forums for resolving commercial disputes. According to Ghana Web, the outcome arrives at a delicate moment as AT Ghana (former AirtelTigo) is in the middle of a structural and financial restructuring that has drawn in regulators, the Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, and now a prospective foreign investor. The arbitration is the legal endpoint of a debt that accumulated over several years. AirtelTigo, formed in 2017 through the merger of Bharti Airtel's and Millicom's Ghanaian operations, relied on ATC Ghana's tower infrastructure for its network coverage across the country. Under industry-standard tower-sharing arrangements, mobile operators pay tower companies, known as towercos, recurring fees for access to masts, power supply, and related services. Payments to ATC fell into arrears, and by the time current Communications Minister, Samuel Nartey George addressed Parliament in March 2025, the figure owed to ATC alone had reached GHS1.5 billion, a portion of a total debt load on AT Ghana's books that the minister put at over GHS3.5 billion, equivalent to approximately US$225 million at prevailing exchange rates. The lawsuit was triggered when the previous government left power, establishing a fresh entity called People's Network (PPL Net) and transferred all the assets and staff of AT Ghana to that company. This was a bid to save jobs and protect the company from complete collapse while freeing AT Ghana of all liabilities to attract potential investors. ATC Ghana theref ore filed the ICC suit in pursuit of their money because all their dealings had been with AT Ghana and not PPL Net. In the midst of all these back and forth, ATC Ghana offered to forgive all accumulated interest on the AT Ghana debt and even slash the principal by about another 80%. Upon all that juicy offer from ATC, which reduced the bill to about US$20 million, still none of it was paid to ATC Ghana, and there is still no record of any payment till date. Faced with non-payment, ATC Ghana began disconnecting power to AT Ghana's radio access network sites on September 1, 2025, triggering an immediate risk of service collapse across a subscriber base that then stood at over three million. The National Communications Authority (NCA) and the Communications Ministry intervened, arranging emergency national roaming between AT Ghana and Telecel Ghana to maintain service continuity. A potential path forward has emerged as Canadian infrastructure and commodity trader company Rektron Group signed a memorandum of u nderstanding with the government in May 2025 to acquire a 60 percent majority stake in AT Ghana, in partnership with local firm Afritel Ghana. However, the government's decision to go with the roaming and or absorption arrangement with Telecel Ghana has complicated Rektron's pursuit for AT Ghana. The ICC arbitration outcome adds a fresh dimension to that process. Any prospective investor will need to account for the enforceability of ATC's award, which Ghanaian courts are expected to give effect to under the country's obligations as a signatory to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. Legal observers note that enforcement, not just the award itself, will be the measure of institutional credibility, and how swiftly and completely Ghanaian courts act is likely to be watched closely by infrastructure investors evaluating the country's dispute-resolution environment.