Ghana Proposes Global Network Resilience Plan

Judith Twumwaa, Information Services Department
November 11, 2026

Ghana has proposed a global framework to make telecommunications networks more resilient and improve how service is restored after disruptions. Samuel Nartey George, the country's Minister for Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations, called for an ITU Programme of Action on Resilience during a thematic discussion alongside the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference PP-26 in Doha. Ghana's Information Services Department reported the proposal following that discussion. The minister's call seeks clear responsibilities, implementation timelines, and measurable indicators, but it is not an adopted ITU rule or a funded implementation program.

The proposal identifies four priorities: coordinated infrastructure protection, effective regulation, responsible use of emerging technologies, and stronger cross-border cooperation. Its practical measures include infrastructure sharing, diverse routes, faster right-of-way approvals, timely repairs, and measurable restoration duties. For submarine cable networks, George called for coordinated repair arrangements and faster clearance for repair vessels. Risk-information sharing and financing to help developing countries diversify international connectivity are also part of the proposal. Together, these measures address both the availability of alternative connections and the administrative steps involved in restoring damaged infrastructure.

The broader telecom proposal also includes AI-based predictive maintenance, digital twins, satellite backup, solar power, cybersecurity, data protection, and development of local technical skills. These are supporting measures rather than a separate announcement of equipment purchases or network deployments. For the subsea industry, the emphasis on repair coordination and vessel clearance is particularly relevant: resilience planning needs to consider restoration procedures alongside route diversity. Ghana's approach brings those issues into the same discussion as regulation, financing, technology, and the people responsible for keeping communications networks operating.

The central policy question is whether ITU members will take the proposal forward into a shared framework with defined responsibilities and ways to measure progress. Ghana has expressed readiness to support that work, but the source states no adoption date or implementation deadline. The next milestone therefore depends on consideration by the ITU and its member states, not on a schedule already agreed upon. For now, the announcement is a public ministerial proposal to turn resilience goals into more concrete international arrangements, rather than evidence that those arrangements have been approved, financed, or put into effect.

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