Customers of MTN Ghana will, from 12 midnight to 6am on Sunday, August 17, be unable to access the telecommunication giant’s mobile money services.

Engaging the media, Chief Technology & Service Delivery Officer of Mobile Money Limited, Charles Asamoah Assah, explained that this would be so due to a planned system upgrade.

“This upgrade is to improve our services to you. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your understanding,” Charles Asamoah Assah stated.

A month ago, approximately 12 hours after MTN announced a service downtime that affected customers' ability to purchase the renewed data packages, a formal statement revealed that the disruption had been resolved.

The telco, in an official statement, revealed that it has restored its service, assuring customers that they can now purchase their data with the additional 15% volume.

In the statement, which read, "MTN is pleased to inform our cherished customers that we have restored our data bundle purchase channels." MTN said that customers could access their channels to purchase their desired data.

"As of 11 pm today, 1st July 2025, customers can purchase data bundles to receive the 15% additional volume of data via the following channels:*138#, *170#, *567#" parts of the statement shared.

However, it urged customers to note that data purchases via the MoMo app remained temporarily unavailable.

There was a barrage of bitter complaints from MTN users on X over the inaccessibility of the telco's data package purchasing channels.

Around 7 am, a user on X (formerly Twitter) complained that she was receiving feedback such as 'the service is being upgraded; try again after 7 AM.'

Other users also expressed doubt about the genuineness of MTN's claims of experiencing technical issues.

They asserted that it was a deliberate attempt by the telcos to miss the Communications Minister, Sam George's, timeline of effecting the 15% increase in data volume.

Some drew comparisons between other telcos, such as Telecel and AT, which are supposedly 'smaller' in terms of dominance, to have been able to prepare for the changes.

Effective July 1, telecommunication companies reviewed the amount of data provided for their bundle packages.

Airtel Tigo (AT) and Telecel increased their data offers by over 10%, whereas MTN reviewed their data offers by 15%.

AT's GHC400 data package, providing 195 GB now offers 236 GB. Telecel's GHC400 data package is now worth 250 GB and not 190 GB effective next month.

MTN has reintroduced its GHC399 data package and offers 214GB and ceased providing 92.88GB for GHC350.

The Ministry of Communication and Digital Innovations earlier assured Ghanaians of reducing the cost of data by the end of 2025.

A committee that was set up in February had developed a roadmap meant to drive plans for data reduction.

The Communications Minister has arranged for cheaper data bundles on five national holidays in the year. These selected holidays are Independence Day, May Day, Republic Day, Founders’ Day, and Farmers’ Day.

According to him, the initial plan was to offer discounted packages on all 18 public holidays in the year, but this proved unfeasible as telecommunications companies pushed back against the proposal.

Nonetheless, Ghanaians enjoyed discounted data bundles for the first time on a public holiday, starting with March 6th (Independence Day).

A similar offer was made on May 1 (May Day), and the public is assured of enjoying the same benefit for the three remaining selected holidays ahead in the year.

Meanwhile, Samuel Nartey George has vowed to impose financial penalties on Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) that fail to meet service quality standards before the end of the year.

According to Mr George, 40 percent of the fines imposed on telecom companies that fail to provide quality services will be used to provide data or call-time bonuses to affected customers.

A nationwide service quality test, covering all district capitals, is expected to be conducted by the NCA in the third quarter of 2025. Based on its findings, the government will take “decisive action” if no significant improvements are seen.

With regard to the spectrum rollout, the minister noted that "the Ghanaian people must feel the impact by the end of this year."

“We know you can’t complete upgrades in three months, but we must see that the process has begun," he added, providing a short-term deadline of June 30.