MTN Ghana wins $202m 5G spectrum awards in sweep of 3GHz band

MTN Ghana has been awarded radio-frequency spectrum worth US$202 million to expand its 5G and mobile broadband services, the group announced after Ghana’s National Communications Authority (NCA) notified it of the award on 2 October.

The award covers two 20MHz lots in the 700MHz band for US$100.9 million and three 50MHz lots — 150MHz in total — in the 3GHz band for US$101.1 million, with licences running for 15 years, Business Day reported. MTN was the only qualified bidder for the 700MHz band and swept all three lots of 3GHz spectrum on offer; rival Telecel Ghana was awarded three lots in the 2.3GHz band instead.

The round follows Ghana’s decision in February to revoke the exclusive wholesale 5G rights of Next Gen InfraCo, the state-backed venture tied to India’s Reliance Industries, after it missed a deadline last June to launch services. The NCA invited operators to apply directly for spectrum in July.

MTN Ghana said it will deploy the new spectrum alongside its existing holdings “to strengthen network capacity, enhance service quality and improve customer experience”, and that it will be “critical” to driving 5G mobility and connecting homes across Ghana. The operator, which has crossed 32 million subscribers, is finalising formalities and payment.