The Ghanaian government has stepped in to transfer three million Airtel Ghana Limited (AT) subscribers onto Telecel’s network.

In a post this week, Ghana’s Ministry of Communication confirmed the migration of the customers to Telecel's network after the customers were disconnected from Airtel because of the carrier's dispute with American Tower Company Ghana (ATC Ghana).

Infrastructure provider ATC Ghana cut power to Airtel's radio sites from September 1 due to unpaid bills.

It's led the government to step in this week, as it sought to keep Airtel's customers connected.

"On 1st September 2025, ATC commenced power disconnections to AT’s radio access networks, triggering the risk of widespread service disruption," said the Ministry in a post.

"In response, the National Communications Authority (NCA) directed AT and Telecel to establish national roaming, allowing AT’s traffic to be migrated onto Telecel’s network. This intervention ensures that subscribers continue to enjoy voice, SMS, data, and AT Money services without interruption."

AT has suffered financial issues for years. The telco, initially set up as a JV between India’s Bharti Airtel and Luxembourg-based Millicom, was sold to the Ghanaian government for $25 million in 2020.

The government said it has appointed KPMG as transaction advisor as it looks to secure AT's long-term future.

"The advisor has been given 60 days to assess AT’s debt situation, examine the government’s shareholding interests in Telecel Ghana, and recommend strategies for creating a strong second operator to balance Ghana’s telecom market," said the Ministry.

The Minister also moved to assure staff at AT that their jobs are secure for now, but noted decisions around M&A have not been made yet.

Telecel Ghana has more than 7.5 million subscribers in the country, with around 18 percent market share.

The carrier had its own dispute with ATC Ghana last year, with the telco cut off from ATC's infrastructure. It led to outages on Telecel's network, before regulator National Communications Authority (NCA) ordered ATC to reconnect all Telecel Ghana sites.