2017 Ghana - Telecoms, Mobile, Broadband and Digital Media - Statistics and Analyses

Ghana’s mobile market consolidates with Tigo and Airtel to merge

Ghana was one of the first countries in Africa to liberalise and deregulate its telecommunications sector. Following the privatisation of Ghana Telecom in 1996 there was very rapid growth in market competition across the mobile, internet and fixed-line sectors, with a number of new players being licensed to offer services. Ghana Telecom was acquired by the Vodafone Group in 2009 and rebranded as Vodafone Ghana. It is the principal fixed-line provider and also the second largest player in the mobile services sector.

The country has one of the most vibrant mobile markets on the continent, with six competing operators including the regional heavyweights MTN Ghana, Vodafone Ghana, Bharti Airtel (formerly Zain) and Millicom (Tigo). In March 2017 the owners of Tigo Ghana and Airtel Ghana agreed on terms for the merger of these local units, creating the second largest operator in the country by subscribers.

Although mobile subscriber growth has remained strong in recent years competition has resulted in lower ARPU and consequently operators have seen stagnant revenue growth. While growth in the voice market has slowed, there is enormous potential in mobile broadband services, both in terms of subscriber additions and in mobile data ARPU. Mobile broadband already accounts for the vast majority of internet connections in the country. The launch of LTE services by MTN Ghana in mid-2016 has added to the vibrancy of this sector.

Ghana also has a highly competitive internet market, with more than 140 licensed ISPs although only about a quarter of these are active. The arrival of two submarine fibre optic cables in 2012 and 2013 significantly increased international bandwidth and led to a reduction in the cost of broadband access. These developments, combined with the roll out of national fibre backbone networks by a number of players, are continuing to revolutionise the country’s broadband market and pave the way for the convergence of technologies and services.

Key developments:

• Accra Digital Centre is opened;
• Google builds out 1,200km of metro-net fibre as part of its Project Link program;
• Government planning launch of the Ghanasat 1 satellite in 2020;
• Ghana Information Communication Technology Council to be set up to guide the ICT sector;
• Tigo Ghana and Airtel Ghana agree merger terms;
• Tigo doubles data rates deploying sing HSPA+ technology;
• MTN Ghana launches LTE using 800MHz licence;
• Expresso considers sale of tower assets;
• Surfline Communications and Blu Telecoms launch LTE services;
• Vodafone launches FttP-based broadband services;
• Report update includes the regulator’s market data to February 2017, operator data to Q4 2016, recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report:

Vodafone Ghana (Ghana Telecom; OneTouch), Telkom Malaysia, Telenor, Bharti Airtel (Zain/Celtel, Westel), Capital Telecom, Globacom (Glo Mobile), Main One, VoltaCom, Phase3 Telecom, Suburban Telecom, MTN Ghana; Millicom Ghana (Tigo), Expresso Telecom (Sudatel, Kasapa), Thuraya, Network Computer Systems (NCS), InternetGhana, Africa Online, Busy Internet, Linkserve, IDN, Infinite Stream Ghana, Electricity Corporation of Ghana (ECG), Cactel Communications, O3b Networks, VoltaCom, Internet Solutions