Telecom infrastructure provider ATC Ghana reportedly restored electricity to Telecel Ghana's telecoms towers over the weekend by order of the regulator after intentionally cutting off the power over a financial dispute.

According to media reports, Telecel Ghana's mobile services were disrupted last week when ATC Ghana cut off the power supply to some of its towers. In a statement issued on Thursday, ATC Ghana explained that it did so because Telecel was not complying with its payment obligations.

"The non-compliance with the agreed obligations is such that ATC Ghana no longer has the capacity to buy electricity and diesel to maintain Telecel's equipment, especially when its agreements with Telecel have expired," the statement from ATC Ghana said.

ATC claimed it made the decision after “in-depth negotiations” with Telecel, and had notified the National Communications Authority (NCA) of its intentions.

Telecel denied the allegations and threatened legal action against ATC Ghana. According to a statement issued by Telecel on Friday, the NCA and the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization met with both companies, which resulted in the NCA ordering ATC Ghana to reconnect the towers by Saturday and withdraw its statements in the press.

Telecel issued another statement on Sunday saying that all towers were reconnected and all services restored. Telecel also said that the NCA will arbitrate the underlying dispute between the two companies.

The service shutdown came at a delicate time for Telecel, formerly known as Vodafone Ghana until Telecel bought Vodafone’s 70% stake in the telco last year. The operator officially rebranded as Telecel in March, and has been trying to use the fresh rebrand to boost its market share. However, the service quality issues that plagued Vodafone Ghana have persisted under the new brand, with some customers on social media claiming the problem has gotten worse, according to a report on Monday from tech news site Tech Labari.

The latest stats from the NCA show that Telecel Ghana has 6.3 million subscribers. While that makes it the second largest mobile operator in Ghana with a 19.44% market share, it’s still way behind dominant market leader MTN, which holds over 71% of the mobile market.