Telecel secures three 2.3 GHz spectrum lots as Ghana opens 5G to competition after ending NGIC’s exclusive wholesale model
Keypoints:
- Telecel secures three 2.3 GHz lots
- NGIC retains its licence without exclusivity
- Ghana shifts towards competitive 5G rollout
GHANA’S telecom regulator has awarded Telecel Ghana three spectrum lots in the 2.3 GHz band, giving the operator more capacity to expand mobile broadband and prepare for a wider 5G rollout.
The award marks another step in Ghana’s overhaul of its 5G strategy. After initially putting a single wholesale infrastructure provider at the centre of deployment, regulators are now allowing operators to acquire spectrum directly and compete alongside the existing wholesale network.
Telecel gains more spectrum
Telecel secured all three 2.3 GHz lots for which it applied following the National Communications Authority’s competitive spectrum licensing process covering the 700 MHz, 2.3 GHz and 3 GHz bands.
Telecel Ghana’s Director of External Affairs, Komla Buami, confirmed the award, saying the additional spectrum would strengthen the company’s ability to expand its network, improve service quality and prepare for 5G.
The allocation puts substance behind a policy change that began earlier this year.
Africa Briefing reported in July that Ghana opened bidding for 11 spectrum lots carrying a combined minimum reserve value of $230m after regulators dismantled the exclusivity underpinning the original 5G model.
Telecel can now build additional capacity using spectrum assigned directly to the company rather than relying solely on wholesale 5G infrastructure.
Why Ghana changed course
Ghana’s original plan revolved around Next Gen Infraco Limited (NGIC), a shared infrastructure company launched in 2024 with exclusive rights to operate the country’s wholesale 5G network.
The model was designed to avoid costly duplication. Instead of each mobile operator building a separate nationwide 5G network, they could buy capacity from a common platform.
NGIC’s technology partners included Nokia, Tech Mahindra and Radisys. Radisys is part of Jio Platforms, which is wholly owned by Reliance Industries, the Indian conglomerate chaired by Mukesh Ambani.
But the rollout struggled to reach the scale regulators wanted.
By March, the NCA said NGIC had installed 49 5G sites across Ghana, including 43 in Greater Accra. The regulator also disclosed that the company was in default on an instalment payment under its licence conditions.
Those concerns helped drive a rethink.
Ghana subsequently abandoned NGIC’s exclusive position and opened the door to a more competitive system.
The regulatory change, however, stopped short of cancelling NGIC’s licence.
On July 15, the NCA removed the exclusivity condition from NGIC’s licence. The company remains licensed and retains its existing spectrum assignment as well as its other rights and obligations.
A hybrid 5G market emerges
Ghana is therefore not replacing NGIC with Telecel or any other single operator.
Instead, a hybrid system is taking shape.
NGIC can continue to provide wholesale infrastructure, while mobile operators and other eligible companies can acquire spectrum directly and invest in their own network capacity.
MTN Ghana has already secured two lots in the 700 MHz band for a total licence fee of $100.9m, according to the NCA.
Competition is also playing out in the 3 GHz band, where MTN and Telecel sought four lots between them despite only three being available.
Successful licensees face demanding rollout obligations. They are required to provide outdoor mobile broadband coverage to at least 70 percent of Ghana’s population by March 6, 2027, including regional and district capitals.
That means the focus is moving quickly from licences and policy changes to actual network construction.
Consumers await the payoff
For consumers, the award itself is only the beginning.
Attention will now turn to how quickly Telecel and other operators turn their new spectrum into live services, whether coverage expands beyond Accra and other major urban centres, and whether stronger competition produces noticeable improvements in quality and affordability.
The stakes extend beyond faster mobile downloads.
Ghana’s information and communication sector expanded by 30.9 percent in the second quarter of 2026 and accounted for 41.5 percent of the country’s overall real GDP growth.
Connectivity is increasingly part of the infrastructure supporting payments, businesses, public services and wider economic activity.
Telecel’s new spectrum gives it more room to compete in that expanding market. For Ghana, the bigger question is whether competition can now deliver the investment, coverage and service improvements that the exclusive model struggled to produce.