There are a handful of telecoms in Ghana that dominate nationwide internet coverage. At the top of the list are MTN and Telecel (aka Vodafone). Up until recently, Telecel had the advantage in terms of providing internet access to remote areas. Now, MTN has them trumped in that regard. The caveat, traditionally speaking, is that MTN’s data tends to be noticeably more expensive than Telecel. But even that dynamic has been changing in recent times.

So besides choosing the right network, which is often MTN, internet reliability has most to do with location. In remote, bushy areas, you can usually expect reception to be relatively poor and for spells even nonexistent.

In some other places, it may fluctuate. For instance, I spent some time in Katamanso, in the Ashaiman metropolis, which is actually part of Accra. And I was amazingly frustrated by how weak telecom signals are there.

So it’s sorta like a crap shoot. In other words, unless you have foreknowledge of how well the internet flows in a particular part of Ghana, you’d never actually know unless you experience it yourself. Or put otherwise, you can’t take ubiquitous, respectable internet connectivity for granted.

But I’m not trying to give the impression that internet reception is bad in this country. Speeds have increased dramatically in recent years, and in a lot of places, during certain times a day, they’re even stream-worthy. The reason I’ve experienced more challenges is because I tend to move around a lot.

Also I use a simple, let’s say lower-speed setup. That is to say that I use my android device as a hotspot, which I then connect the laptop to. There are speedier methods available, such as purchasing a wi-fi/mi-fi router from respective telecoms or even subscribing to Starlink. But for a transient digital nomad like myself, android-plus-laptop is a lot more convenient, i.e. easier to transport and charge. Also, standard telecom data is a lot less expensive than that made specifically for routers or Starlink.