- MTN And Telecel 5G Battle Could Reshape Ghana’s Digital Economy
Ghana’s decision to open its 5G market to competition marks a major shift in telecom policy and a tacit admission that the country’s exclusive wholesale model has not delivered the speed, scale and coverage expected of it.
The government is preparing to auction new 5G licences, with MTN Group and Telecel Group expected to compete after the state moved to revoke the exclusive rights previously granted to Next Gen Infraco, the state-backed wholesale provider linked to Ghana’s earlier 5G rollout strategy.
The move follows mounting concern over rollout delays. Next Gen Infraco, which had partnered with Radisys Corp, a subsidiary of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries, was expected to help build Ghana’s 5G infrastructure under an exclusive arrangement. But the company had reportedly deployed only 49 operational 5G sites by March, far below the government’s target of 1,200 sites by 2027.
That gap between promise and delivery now appears to have forced a policy reset.
For Ghana, the question is no longer whether 5G is important. It is whether the country can deploy it quickly, fairly and competitively without reinforcing the dominance of the biggest telecom operator or repeating the weaknesses of the failed exclusive model.
The previous administration had backed the wholesale 5G approach partly in the hope that Ghana could replicate aspects of India’s Jio Platforms success story, where Reliance’s telecom arm dramatically lowered data costs and expanded digital access. But Ghana’s experience has been more complicated. The exclusive model may have promised coordination and scale, but the slow rollout has left the country trailing regional peers.
According to GSMA Intelligence data, Ghana could achieve only 7.00% population coverage by the end of the year if commercial services launch soon. That compares with 22.00% in Nigeria, 38.00% in Kenya and more than 60.00% in South Africa.
Ghana has spent years presenting itself as a serious digital economy, with ambitions in fintech, digital public infrastructure, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, e-commerce, business process outsourcing and technology-enabled public services. But without modern broadband infrastructure, those ambitions risk remaining ahead of the country’s connectivity reality.
5G is not simply faster mobile internet. For a country trying to modernise its economy, it is part of the infrastructure layer for data-heavy services, enterprise connectivity, smart logistics, digital health, precision agriculture, industrial automation and advanced fintech products.
If Ghana delays too long, it risks losing digital competitiveness to countries that are building faster, cheaper and more reliable high-speed networks. Technology firms, digital service providers, cloud companies and data-driven businesses will naturally gravitate towards markets where connectivity is strong and scalable.
The government’s new target is ambitious. Ghana now wants to expand 5G coverage to 70.00% of the population by March 2027 through a mix of wholesale and operator-led networks.
That target is bold, but it will require execution discipline. Moving from 49 operational sites to broad national coverage within a short period will not be easy. It will require capital, spectrum availability, tower infrastructure, fibre backhaul, device affordability, regulatory coordination and a clear commercial incentive for operators.
This is where MTN and Telecel enter the picture. MTN currently dominates Ghana’s mobile data market, accounting for roughly 80.00% of subscribers, while Telecel, which acquired Vodafone Ghana, is seeking to strengthen its competitive position.
The planned auction therefore carries a wider market consequence. If Ghana designs the auction purely around who can pay the most, MTN’s financial strength could allow it to deepen its advantage. If the auction is designed around coverage obligations, competitive balance and consumer outcomes, it could help create a more open and dynamic telecom market.
Telecel Group Chief Executive Officer Moh Damush has already warned against a purely revenue-maximising auction. “The government must ensure that the auction is not conducted on the basis of the highest bidder,” he said, cautioning that such an approach could reinforce MTN’s market dominance rather than promote competition.
Telecom spectrum is a public resource. Governments can use it to raise money, but if revenue becomes the only objective, consumers may eventually pay the price. Operators that spend heavily on spectrum may pass the cost into data pricing, delay network investment or focus deployment on commercially attractive urban areas while rural communities wait.
The state must therefore decide what it wants from the 5G auction. If the objective is fast national coverage, then licence conditions must reward rollout speed and broad access. If the objective is competition, then the auction must avoid giving the strongest operator an unassailable advantage. If the objective is fiscal revenue, then the state may raise money upfront but risk slower deployment or higher consumer costs later.
Ghana must not repeat the mistake of treating 5G as a trophy announcement. It must treat it as critical economic infrastructure.
The failure of the exclusive model offers several lessons. First, control without performance is not enough. Granting exclusivity may simplify planning, but if the operator does not deliver, the country loses time. Second, big-name international partnerships do not automatically guarantee rollout success. Third, telecom policy must be flexible enough to correct course when targets are missed.
If poorly managed, a competitive auction can create its own problems. It can intensify market concentration, weaken smaller operators, delay investment, increase consumer costs or create fragmented infrastructure. Ghana needs competition, but it must be structured competition.
That means clear rollout obligations, strict timelines, coverage targets, penalties for non-performance, infrastructure-sharing rules and transparent pricing principles. It also means ensuring that 5G does not become an elite urban service available mainly to high-income users in Accra and a few commercial centres.
Telecel’s participation could be important for market balance. Since taking over Vodafone Ghana, the company has had to rebuild its position in a market heavily shaped by MTN’s scale. Access to 5G spectrum could give it an opportunity to compete more aggressively in data, enterprise services and digital platforms.
But Telecel will need capital and execution capacity. Winning a licence is only the beginning. Building a network is the real test.
MTN, on the other hand, already has the market power, subscriber base and infrastructure depth to move quickly. That could benefit consumers if it accelerates deployment. But it could also deepen concerns over market dominance if smaller operators are unable to match its pace.
Ghana needs MTN’s investment strength, but it also needs competition strong enough to protect consumers and innovation. It needs Telecel and other players to grow, but it cannot design a system that slows the entire market in the name of balance.
The regulator’s role will therefore be decisive.
The auction must be transparent. Licence terms must be clear. Coverage obligations must be enforceable. Wholesale access rules must be fair. Pricing must be monitored. Consumer protection must be embedded from the beginning.
Ghana’s telecom history shows that market structure matters. Once dominance is entrenched, it becomes difficult to reverse. The 5G auction is therefore not only about the next generation of mobile technology. It is about the next decade of market power in Ghana’s digital economy.
The government’s decision to end the exclusive model may be justified by the poor rollout numbers. But the replacement model must now prove itself.
If the auction is well-designed, Ghana could accelerate 5G deployment, attract investment, improve connectivity and support digital services across the economy. If it is poorly designed, the country could exchange one problem for another: moving from a slow monopoly-style model to a competitive process that still leaves consumers with limited choice and high costs.
The stakes are high because 5G will shape far more than telecom profits. It will influence fintech expansion, digital public services, start-up growth, education technology, telemedicine, cloud services, artificial intelligence adoption and the ability of local firms to compete in a more data-driven economy.
The country’s 5G reset is therefore welcome, but it must be handled carefully. The collapse of confidence in the previous exclusive arrangement should not lead to a rushed auction that prioritises short-term revenue over long-term digital competitiveness.
