The National Communications Authority (NCA) is making preparations for the full roll out of its Significant Market Power (SMP) guidelines for telecommunication companies in the country.
This follows the withdrawal of the legal suit filed against the NCA by MTN Ghana at the country’s apex court seeking a judicial review of the declaration of MTN as an SMP by the Authority.
The guidelines would among others, address critical initiatives by the regulator to promote balance in the sector as players with low market share (Glo, Vodafone and AirtelTigo) would be provided some incentives to push them up to an appreciable level that would impact their bottom line.
The NCA in a press release dated June 9, 2020 announced the declaration of MTN Ghana as an SMP, stating that it would be putting in place certain measures and policies to correct the imbalance in the telecommunication industry.
MTN upon being declared an SMP, dragged the NCA to the High Court challenging the declaration. The telecommunication giant however, lost its legal suit against the NCA but later took the matter to the Supreme Court seeking a judicial review of the judgment by the High Court.
But in a press statement issued by MTN Ghana on Tuesday, October 13, 2020, it announced that it had withdrawn the legal suit currently before the apex court to allow the NCA continue works on rolling out the SMP guidelines.
“Given the progress made so far, in good faith, on settlement discussions with the NCA, and Ministry of Communications, the company has withdrawn its application filed at the Supreme Court on September 4, 2020. It is our expectation that this action will pave the way for further discussions and an amicable resolution, in the spirit of the renewed channels of engagement,” the statement said.
According to the company, collective goodwill and commitment is necessary to help the sector thrive to support the government’s agenda of enhancing connectivity and the availability of communication services in the country.
The statement added that management is “convinced that this decision is in the best interest of our cherished customers, shareholders and other stakeholders.”
The company assured that it remains focused on providing the enabling technology to support Ghana’s digital economy through partnerships with the Government of Ghana and other Ghanaian telecommunication players.
