The National Communications Authority (NCA) has published its long-awaited telecoms market share data for 2024, revealing that the market imbalance, particularly the dominance of MTN Ghana, remains largely unchanged despite several regulatory interventions aimed at creating a level playing field.
For nearly two years, the NCA has been slow to release such statistics, a delay attributed to the regulatory measures following MTN’s designation as a Significant Market Power (SMP). While the NCA previously updated market statistics quarterly, its last detailed report was published in January 2023, which, although comprehensive, failed to offer a continuous, up-to-date view of the sector’s performance.
In an article titled Shaping the Future – The NCA’s Achievements, published on December 20, 2024, the regulator detailed its ongoing initiatives and provided the most recent market share figures as of July 2024. The data reveals that MTN, despite being designated SMP and subject to measures aimed at curbing its market dominance, has continued to expand its subscriber base and increase its share in both the mobile voice and 4G segments. Meanwhile, its competitors, with the exception of AT Ghana, have generally seen declines in market share.
In particular, the voice and 4G market share figures show that, after the SMP designation, MTN’s market position has only strengthened, a trend that was visible even before the 2022 SIM registration process. The NCA’s decision to implement a re-registration of SIM cards, which led to a temporary drop in subscriber numbers across the board, did not have a significant impact on MTN’s overall position. The only exception in the market was AT Ghana, which saw a minor gain in subscriber numbers following the closure of Glo and the migration of its customers.
The new statistics show MTN’s dominance in the 4G market remains substantial, with the company holding over 82% of the market share as of July 2024, a slight increase from the 80% it held in January 2023. In contrast, Vodafone, now Telecel, continues to struggle, recording a 6.47% market share loss. Despite the interventions, including the introduction of technology neutrality, national roaming agreements, and the shared 5G network initiative, MTN’s position seems largely unshaken.
The NCA has put in place several measures to improve competitiveness in the sector, including technology neutrality. This allows operators who currently lack 4G services to deploy it using their existing spectrum allocations. Non-SMP operators with 4G services can also re-farm their spectrum to enhance service quality. These initiatives are intended to enhance consumer choice and competitiveness among providers.
Another key development is the licensing of the Next Generation Infrastructure Company (NGIC) to build and manage an open-access shared 5G network. Launched on November 1, 2024, the shared infrastructure aims to provide equal access to 5G services across all operators. However, while the network is ready for integration, full 5G services are not expected to be available to consumers until January 2025, as AT Ghana and Telecel are still completing some network upgrades.
Despite these efforts, the key question remains whether these measures will succeed in bridging the significant market gap between MTN and its competitors. So far, MTN has not joined the shared 5G network, with reports suggesting the company is exploring the possibility of securing a separate license outside of the shared infrastructure arrangement.
In summary, while the NCA’s recent market share data highlights efforts to address the telecom market imbalance, MTN’s continued dominance calls into question the effectiveness of the current regulatory measures. Whether initiatives like technology neutrality, national roaming, and the shared 5G network can level the playing field in the coming years remains to be seen.
Find below the infographics of the current voice and 4G market share figures, as contained in the article.
Find the December 2022 and January 2023 figures as published by NCA below:
