Can Ghana's National Communications Authority Slow MTN's Domination?
MTN keeps growing and its competitors can't keep up
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It’s fair to say that MTN is the king of telecommunications in Ghana, and they have the numbers to back it up.
In 2024, MTN dominated the voice market with a whopping 75% market share, eclipsing its rivals AT Ghana and Telecel.
The total number of voice subscriptions is 37.8 million, meaning MTN has an estimated 28.3 million subscribers.
Even in the 4G space, MTN dominates, capturing 82.3% of the nearly 14.3 million 4G subscribers
Can The NCA Slow the Juggernaut?
The country’s regulator, the National Communications Authority (NCA) is well aware of MTN’s dominant form. In 2020, the NCA designed MTN as an SMP, a Significant Market Player, and forced the company to abide by new rules including placing restrictions on its pricing for voice and data.
But that doesn’t appear to have done much with MTN still on pace to get more market share in 2025.
Where’s my 5G?
Speaking of 2025, Ghana launched its 5G network which was supposed to go live before 2024 ended. Fast forward and we have no 5G yet.
MTN was gearing up to launch in 2022 with a pilot, but rumors have it that NCA stepped in to stop the launch.
It was announced earlier in 2024 that there would be a 5G network where all players would have to use a shared network.
Even after the official launch in November, there’s been radio silence from all telcos about the 5G launch.
What Happens Next
We expect MTN to keep being the dominant force in Ghana when it comes to telecommunications.
We should see an eventual launch of 5G this year but the date for the rollout is unknown
With a new government administration taking over, we could also see some policy changes when it comes to communication taxes and how the telco industry moves forward