The National Communications Authority (NCA) has qualified MTN Ghana, Telecel Ghana and Goal Telecom to advance in the process. A qualification notice issued in Accra on 9 September 2026 confirms this. Scancom Plc (trading as MTN Ghana), Ghana Telecommunications Company Limited (trading as Telecel Ghana) and Goal Telecommunications Ltd all passed technical and eligibility screening for licences in the 700 MHz, 2.3 GHz and 3 GHz bands. As a result, the three firms proceed to Stage 3, while Infrav Ltd has been excluded from the current round.
The authority received four applications before the extended 27 August deadline. It added three weeks to the original timetable to give bidders more preparation time.
Competitive 5G auction reshapes Ghana’s mobile market
The current auction is Ghana’s first fully competitive assignment of 5G-capable spectrum. In February 2026, Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations Sam George confirmed that the government would end the earlier wholesale-only 5G mandate. The shift moves to a national licensing regime that allows mobile operators to deploy their own 5G networks. The NCA board then approved the removal of wholesale 5G exclusivity on 15 July 2026. It published a Request for Applications (RFA) on 16 July under the Electronic Communications Act and the NCA Act. This change opens the door for direct operator investment in higher-speed networks. It also signals a more conventional spectrum policy, closer to other reforming markets in the region.
Under the RFA, the NCA offers three paired blocks of 2×10 MHz in the 700 MHz band, five 20 MHz lots at 2.3 GHz and three 50 MHz lots across the 3 GHz range between 3300–3400 MHz and 3600–3650 MHz. According to Connecting Africa, reserve prices reach about US$36 million per lot, with a combined floor value near US$230 million if all 11 lots sell. Licences run for 15 years, giving operators a long-term horizon to plan radio and core upgrades, fibre backhaul and 5G-ready transport networks. By design, the mix of low-band and mid-band spectrum aims to balance wide-area coverage with urban capacity, especially around Accra, Kumasi and other high-traffic centres.
What does Ghana 5G licensing mean for investors?
The NCA has already concluded the 700 MHz band assignment. MTN Ghana emerged as the sole qualified applicant and successful bidder. The regulator’s update on 11 September 2026 states that Scancom Plc applied for the maximum two lots in 700 MHz, generating a total licence fee of US$100.9 million. This confirms that MTN is committing sizeable capital to secure low-band spectrum. That spectrum supports nationwide 5G and strengthens rural and suburban coverage.
Meanwhile, the 2.3 GHz band is under-subscribed, with four of five lots applied for by Telecel Ghana and Goal Telecommunications. Demand in the 3 GHz band exceeds the three available lots, with MTN Ghana and Telecel Ghana applying for four lots between them. The NCA has indicated that the next auction stages for these bands will follow the RFA rules, including competition remedies where demand outstrips supply.
Policy statements from the minister and the authority link Ghana’s 5G rollout to a wider digital agenda. That agenda includes lower data prices, expanded e-government services and support for fintech and enterprise cloud adoption. Although the NCA has not yet published a formal numerical target in its notices, the government’s messaging points to rapid coverage expansion over the next two years. This is anchored on the propagation benefits of 700 MHz and the capacity of 2.3 GHz and 3 GHz in dense areas. For investors, the spectrum mix and licence term suggest a clear strategic path: low-band holdings should underwrite national mobile broadband reach, while mid-band blocks define competitive positioning in high-value urban data markets.
Ghana as a test case for African 5G policy
Market analysts now see Ghana’s auction design as a test case for mid-tier African economies seeking to use 5G policy to pull in long-term capital. One senior view captures the shift neatly: Ghana’s decision to push competitive 5G licensing with a balanced spectrum portfolio puts its operators on a clearer path from data growth to monetisable digital services.
With licence fees already clearing in the 700 MHz band, decisions on 2.3 GHz and 3 GHz are expected by late September 2026. Attention will turn to how quickly MTN, Telecel and Goal translate spectrum rights into live 5G sites, wholesale offers and differentiated enterprise products. This trajectory mirrors broader infrastructure momentum across West Africa, where digital investment is accelerating alongside Ghana’s recovering economic growth.
Investors, executives and policymakers should now watch three signals in particular: the final allocation outcomes in the mid-bands, early network-build metrics during 2027, and whether data-price reforms track with rising 5G adoption across Ghana’s more dynamic urban and peri-urban markets.
Quick answers
Three operators qualified: MTN Ghana (Scancom Plc), Telecel Ghana and Goal Telecommunications Ltd. Infrav Ltd was excluded after the NCA’s eligibility screening in September 2026.
MTN Ghana applied for two lots in the 700 MHz band and paid a total licence fee of US$100.9 million, making it the sole successful bidder in that band.
The NCA is offering 11 lots across three frequency bands — 700 MHz, 2.3 GHz and 3 GHz — with a combined floor value of approximately US$230 million if all lots are sold, at a reserve price of around US$36 million per lot.
