Ghana is preparing to auction 5G licenses to its major wireless carriers after abandoning an exclusivity deal that had handed control of the next-generation network to a struggling state-backed provider tied to Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s business empire.
According to Bloomberg, MTN Group and Telecel Group, the two carriers that dominate Ghana’s mobile market, both confirmed plans to bid once the auction opens, which is expected within weeks.
MTN Ghana’s chief executive, Stephen Blewett, and Telecel Group’s CEO, Moh Damush, told Bloomberg they intend to compete for spectrum as soon as licenses become available.
The shift ends the exclusive rights granted to Next Gen Infraco, a wholesale network operator that had been set to hold its concession until 2034. The company had partnered with Radisys Corp., a unit of Reliance Industries, the conglomerate controlled by Ambani, to build out the country’s 5G infrastructure.
A Slow Start Prompts a Reversal
Ghana’s communications minister, Sam George, who took office in 2025, has said the government would open licensing to competition because of how slowly the 5G rollout had progressed under the exclusive arrangement.
He declined to elaborate when contacted by Bloomberg.
In March, Ghana’s National Communications Authority signaled it was moving to revoke the license altogether.
The numbers help explain the frustration. Next Gen Infraco had just 49 operational 5G sites as of March, far short of the government’s target of 1,200 sites by 2027. Ghana’s previous communications minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, had bet that partnering with Radisys would let the wholesale provider replicate the success of Radisys’s sister company, Jio Platforms, which is widely credited with driving down the cost of mobile data in India.
That success has not translated to Ghana.
Catching Up to Regional Peers
Ghana now aims to expand 5G coverage to 70% of its population by March 2027, using a mix of wholesale and operator-led networks — a course correction meant to close a gap with faster-moving neighbors.
The country currently lags well behind other major African markets. GSMA Intelligence forecasts that if commercial 5G launches soon, Ghana will end the year with population coverage of just 7%. That compares with a projected 22% in Nigeria, 38% in Kenya, and more than 60% in South Africa, according to the research group.
Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa have all steadily built out commercial 5G networks over the past several years, while Ghana’s rollout stalled under the exclusive concession model.
A Market Already Tilted Toward MTN
The stakes in the auction go beyond coverage targets. Ghana’s 35 million people are served primarily by two operators: MTN, which controls roughly 80% of data subscribers, and Telecel, which acquired Vodafone’s local operation and also provides roaming services to subscribers of AT, a debt-laden rival carrier.
That imbalance is shaping how Telecel wants the auction structured. Damush said it was essential that the government not simply award licenses to the highest bidder, warning that doing so would deepen the advantages already held by the market’s dominant player.
“It’s critical for the government to ensure that the auction is not conducted on the basis of the highest bidder,” Damush said. “That will exacerbate the advantages of significant market power and will not foster a proper competitive environment.”
How Ghana structures the bidding — and whether it builds in safeguards for smaller operators — will likely determine whether the new approach actually accelerates 5G access, or simply hands more power to the carrier that already holds most of the market.
