the land rental system and diffusion of telecom infrastructure in ghana: an institutional and transaction economics approach

The paper discusses issues surrounding rent of land space for erecting mobile network towers, with specific reference to the ghanaian telecom infrastructure market. thefoundation for this issue is the clash and articulation of different kinds of ownership structures and rights. under the traditional social or communal ownership system, land belongs to the clans and is distributed among families following traditionbaseuser rights. the land ownership structures of a capitalist mode of production areonly very slowly breaking into this system. the analysis is based on institutionalanalysis including an analysis of the transaction costs for telecom operators seeking toestablish contracts for land rental and for enforcing contracts. quantitative as well asqualitative empirical evidence is analyzed. the paper concludes that the landownership system in ghana creates problems for the telecom and tower companies.the communal lands constitute the dominant land ownership system encounters the private land ownership system of a capitalist mode ofproduction, a number of land ownership cases are produced, which costs money forthe telecom companies. the total transaction costs are calculated to be between ghc6.8 and 13.5 million in 2015. in the ghana context, though this may not be a very largesum, yet this may hold or delay the expansion of the telecom infrastructure especiallyin rural areas. the uncertainty is an important factor when making investmentdecisions.

The land rental system and diffusion of telecom infrastructure in Ghana: an institutional and transaction economics approach

The paper discusses issues surrounding rent of land space for erecting mobile network towers, with specific reference to the Ghanaian telecom infrastructure market. Thefoundation for this issue is the clash and articulation of different kinds of ownership structures and rights. Under the traditional social or communal ownership system, land belongs to the clans and is distributed among families following traditionbaseuser rights. The land ownership structures of a capitalist mode of production areonly very slowly breaking into this system. The analysis is based on institutionalanalysis including an analysis of the transaction costs for telecom operators seeking toestablish contracts for land rental and for enforcing contracts. Quantitative as well asqualitative empirical evidence is analyzed. The paper concludes that the landownership system in Ghana creates problems for the telecom and tower companies.The communal lands constitute the dominant land ownership system encounters the private land ownership system of a capitalist mode ofproduction, a number of land ownership cases are produced, which costs money forthe telecom companies. The total transaction costs are calculated to be between GHC6.8 and 13.5 million in 2015. In the Ghana context, though this may not be a very largesum, yet this may hold or delay the expansion of the telecom infrastructure especiallyin rural areas. The uncertainty is an important factor when making investmentdecisions.