Ghana NCA Approves MTN Ghana's Acquisition of 700MHz and 3GHz Spectrum for 5G

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 2, the National Communications Authority of Ghana issued a spectrum grant notification to MTN Ghana, granting the company additional spectrum in the 700MHz and 3GHz bands for 5G and mobile broadband services. The grant includes two 20MHz spectrum blocks in the 700MHz band and three 50MHz spectrum blocks in the 3GHz band, the latter forming a total of 150MHz of bandwidth. Both spectrum licenses have a term of 15 years.

Among these, the 700MHz spectrum license fee is USD 100.9 million, and the 3GHz spectrum license fee is USD 101.1 million, totaling approximately USD 202 million. MTN Ghana is currently completing the formalities and payment obligations required for spectrum acquisition, and the related license payments have been incorporated into the company's free cash flow forecast.

The 700MHz low band will supplement MTN Ghana's existing spectrum resources and can be used to expand mobile broadband and 5G network coverage; the 3GHz mid band will provide greater contiguous bandwidth to enhance network capacity and data transmission capabilities. MTN Ghana plans to deploy the new spectrum in combination with its existing network spectrum after formally obtaining the licenses, to expand 5G mobile services and advance high-speed home broadband connectivity.

This grant comes from the new round of 700MHz, 2.3GHz, and 3GHz spectrum licensing procedures launched by the National Communications Authority of Ghana in 2026. After the bid opening was completed on September 11, MTN Ghana, as the sole qualified applicant for the 700MHz band, obtained two spectrum blocks, corresponding to a license fee of USD 100.9 million; for the 3GHz band, there were four spectrum blocks in demand at that time, while only three were available for allocation, requiring subsequent competitive procedures.

MTN Ghana ultimately obtained all three 3GHz spectrum blocks this time, totaling 150MHz. In the next phase, the company will initiate deployment of the new spectrum after completing payment and licensing procedures, and will use it for 5G mobile network capacity expansion, service quality improvement, and home broadband services.