Ghana - Mobile Market - Overview, Statistics and Forecasts

Synopsis

Since launching the first cellular mobile network in sub-Saharan Africa in 1992, Ghana has become one of the continent’s most vibrant mobile markets with now six competing operators, including regional heavyweights such as MTN, Vodafone, Bharti Airtel (formerly Zain) and Millicom (Tigo). The entry of Nigeria’s Globacom as the sixth player in 2010 is expected to sustain the strong growth generated by Zain’s entry two years earlier. This, however, has come at the expense of the average revenue per user (ARPU) which has fallen below US$5 per month for some of the operators. While the voice market is approaching saturation at more than 75% penetration in mid-2011, enormous potential in both subscriber and ARPU terms exists for the provision of 3G mobile broadband services which have surpassed existing ADSL services within a few months of their launch in 2009.

Table of Contents

• 1. Synopsis
• 2. Overview of Ghana’s mobile market
  • 2.1 Mobile statistics
• 3. Regulatory issues
  • 3.1 Licensing
  • 3.2 Tariffs
  • 3.3 Interconnect
  • 3.4 Taxation
  • 3.5 Mobile Number Portability (MNP)
  • 3.6 Infrastructure sharing
  • 3.7 Registration of subscriber details
• 4. Major mobile operators
  • 4.1 Vodafone (Ghana Telecom, OneTouch)
    • 4.1.1 Network development and coverage
    • 4.1.2 Services
  • 4.2 MTN Ghana (formerly ScanCom, Spacefon Areeba)
    • 4.2.1 Network development and coverage
    • 4.2.2 Services
  • 4.3 Millicom Ghana (Mobitel, Tigo)
  • 4.4 Kasapa
  • 4.5 Zain (Celtel, Westel)
  • 4.6 Globacom
• 5. Average revenue per user (ARPU)
• 6. Mobile data services
  • 6.1 SMS
  • 6.2 MMS
  • 6.3 GPRS, EDGE, WAP
  • 6.4 BlackBerry
  • 6.5 Mobile TV
• 7. Third generation (3G)
• 8. Mobile content and applications
  • 8.1 Mobile money transfer
• 9. Local handset manufacturing
• 10. Satellite mobile
• 11. Forecast – mobile market 2013; 2016
  • 11.1 Notes on scenario forecasts
• 12. Related reports

• Table 1 – Mobile subscribers and penetration rate – 1999 - 2012
• Table 2 – Mobile subscribers by operator and annual change – May 2010
• Table 3 – MTN Ghana ARPU – 2002 - 2010
• Table 4 – MTN Ghana 3G mobile broadband pricing – August 2010
• Table 5 – Vodafone Ghana 3G mobile broadband prepaid pricing – August 2010
• Table 6 – Vodafone Ghana 3G mobile broadband postpaid pricing – August 2010
• Table 7 – Forecast mobile subscribers – 2013; 2016

• Exhibit 1 – SMS as a weapon against drug counterfeiting