Ghana’s telecom market has undergone several changes in recent years, following the privatisation of the incumbent telco Ghana Telecom and its rebranding as Vodafone Ghana. Two of the key players merged to form AirtelTigo in 2017, though in mid-2020 the parent companies of the operator decided to exit the market. The sale and transfer of AirtelTigo to the state was completed in November 2021.
In the mobile sector, MTN Ghana remains the dominant player. To address this, the regulator has imposed a number of measures since mid-2020 aimed at reducing the company’s market share and so improve the competitive environment.
Although LTE services are widely available, only MTN Ghana has thus far signalled a willingness to invest in 5G. This reticence is in part due to the existing potential of LTE and LTE-A networks, which are likely to be able to manage anticipated data traffic growth in the short term. The relatively high cost of 5G-compatible devices also inhibits most subscribers from migrating from 3G and LTE platforms.
The pandemic has had a noticeable effect on the m-money market, with the number and value of transactions having increased sharply since early 2020.
BuddeComm notes that the pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally. During the coming year the telecoms sector to various degrees is likely to experience a downturn in mobile device production, while it may also be difficult for network operators to manage workflows when maintaining and upgrading existing infrastructure.
Overall progress towards 5G may be postponed or slowed down in some countries.
On the consumer side, spending on telecoms services and devices is under pressure from the financial effect of large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes. However, the crucial nature of telecom services, both for general communication as well as a tool for home-working, will offset such pressures. In many markets the net effect should be a steady though reduced increased in subscriber growth.
Although it is challenging to predict and interpret the long-term impacts of the crisis as it develops, these have been acknowledged in the industry forecasts contained in this report.
The report also covers the responses of the telecom operators as well as government agencies and regulators as they react to the crisis to ensure that citizens can continue to make optimum use of telecom services. This can be reflected in subsidy schemes and the promotion of tele-health and tele-education, among other solutions.
Key developments:
- State takes ownership of AirtelTigo;
- Government issues the first of 350,000 laptops as part of the ‘One Teacher One Laptop’ program aimed at improving teachers’ ICT skills;
- Delayed SIM card registration program to be completed by March 2022;
- Regulator allocates additional spectrum to Vodafone Ghana and MTN Ghana to address increases in data traffic;
- Vodacom South Africa assumes management of Vodafone Ghana;
- Eastern Corridor project is completed;
- MTN Ghana lists on the Ghanaian stock exchange;
- Report update includes the regulator’s market data to April 2021, statistical bulletin for Q1 2021, telcos’ operating data to Q2 2021, Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, assessment of the global impact of Covid-19 on the telecoms sector, recent market developments.
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Developing Telecoms market report summaries are produced in partnership with BuddeCom, the world’s largest continually updated online telecommunications research service.
The above article is a summary of the following BuddeCom report:
Report title: Ghana - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses
Edition: November 2021
Analysts: Henry Lancaster
Number of pages: 171
Companies mentioned in the report: Vodafone Ghana (Ghana Telecom, OneTouch), Capital Telecom, Globacom, MainOne, VoltaCom, Phase3 Telecom, Suburban Telecom, AirtelTigo (Tigo Ghana, Airtel Ghana), MTN Ghana, Expresso Telecom (Sudatel, Kasapa), Globacom (Glo Mobile), Thuraya, Network Computer Systems (NCS), InternetGhana, Africa Online, Busy Internet, Linkserve, IDN, Infinite Stream Ghana, Electricity Corporation of Ghana (ECG), Cactel Communications, O3b Networks, Internet Solutions
Single User PDF Licence Price: US$1390
For more information or to purchase a copy of the full report please use the following link: https://www.budde.com.au/Research/Ghana-Telecoms-Mobile-and-Broadband-Statistics-and-Analyses/?r=83
