Ghana’s telecom operators are preparing for an intense contest after regulators officially launched the country’s first competitive 5G spectrum auction. Applications close on August 6, with successful bidders set to be announced before the end of the month.
The National Communications Authority (NCA) released a 32-page Request for Applications on July 16, inviting mobile network operators, mobile virtual network operators, broadband wireless providers and internet service providers to compete for spectrum in the 700 megahertz, 2.3 gigahertz and 3 gigahertz bands. Final price bids are due on August 20, and the winners will be revealed on August 28.
Eleven spectrum lots are available, with a combined reserve price of $230 million. The 700 MHz band, valued for its broad rural coverage, includes three lots priced at $36 million each. The 2.3 GHz band offers five lots at $10 million apiece, while the 3 GHz mid-band, which is key to delivering high-capacity urban data services, includes three lots at $24 million each. Winning bidders will receive 15-year licences and must provide outdoor mobile broadband coverage to 70% of Ghana’s population by March 6, 2027, in line with the country’s 70th independence anniversary.
Market leaders MTN Ghana and Telecel Ghana, which together serve about 95% of the country’s mobile internet users, have both indicated they intend to participate. To prevent the auction from reinforcing existing market dominance, the NCA has imposed restrictions. MTN will pay a 40% premium on its bids because of its significant market position, while no operator can acquire more than two lots in the 700 MHz band or three lots in the 2.3 GHz band. New entrants may also bid, provided they are entirely Ghanaian-owned.
The auction represents a major shift from Ghana’s earlier 5G strategy. In 2024, the government granted a 10-year exclusive wholesale licence to Next Gen InfraCo (NGIC), a consortium backed by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani through Radisys Corporation, together with Nokia, Tech Mahindra, Ascend Digital and K-Net. Under that model, NGIC was responsible for building a nationwide 5G network and selling wholesale access to mobile operators.
That policy has since been reversed under President John Mahama’s administration. The NCA issued NGIC a Notice of Proposed Amendment in March. After the company challenged the move in April, regulators ended its exclusive rights on July 15. The authority said opening the market would better serve the public interest by encouraging greater investment, innovation, stronger network resilience, improved service quality and wider access to advanced communications services.
The decision followed concerns over NGIC’s slow rollout. The company had pledged to build about 1,200 sites nationwide but had activated only between 43 and 49 by March 2026, according to industry reports. It had also fallen behind on a significant portion of its $125 million licence fee. Communications Minister Samuel Nartey George has argued that placing Ghana’s entire 5G infrastructure under a single wholesale provider risked limiting competition and slowing innovation.
The NCA is also trying to avoid repeating the outcome of its 2015 spectrum auction. At the time, 800 MHz spectrum was offered with a minimum price of $67.5 million per lot. The price proved too high, leaving MTN as the only successful bidder while most of the available spectrum remained unsold for years. This time, regulators say they have set pricing and rollout requirements that favour companies ready to deploy networks rather than hold spectrum as a long-term asset.
Applicants must pay a non-refundable fee of 300,000 Ghanaian cedis for each lot they seek. The auction will follow a sealed two-envelope process, with technical and financial qualifications assessed first before price bids are opened. Operators that already hold 2.6 GHz spectrum cannot bid for the 2.3 GHz band, a measure intended to prevent further concentration of mid-band spectrum. Companies that fail to meet rollout obligations could face fines, shorter licence terms, suspension or the loss of their licences.
If all 11 lots sell at the reserve price, the government will raise at least $230 million. The final figure could be significantly higher if competitive bidding drives up prices.
By: Andrews Kwesi Yeboah