Mobile Industry In Africa: The changing face ofmobile in Ghana

amgoo.com /blog/mobile-industry-in-africa-the-changing-face-of-mobile-in-ghana

Aug 3, 2014 7:37:00 PM

Image credit: katgoestoghana.wordpress.com

Ghana-A mobile market to behold

With an estimated 29,1 million subscribers over its now six competing mobile operators, Ghana hascome a long way since launching the first cellular mobile network in the sub-Saharan mobile industry inAfrica way back in 1992. Seen as an early adopter of mobile technologies on the continent, the Ghanamobile industry is one of the most vibrant and mature mobile markets with a mobile penetration rateexceeding 100% early last year and mobile internet penetration going up by 9.73% in April this yearbringing the total of mobile internet subscribers to 14.25 million...

Working to Support the future of mobile in Ghana

This paints a picture of steady growth in the Ghana mobile industry and the gradual switch of end-users from feature to smartphone which is great for telcos looking to cash in on the data boom on thecontinent. However, with this increased uptake, mobile network infrastructure has subsequentlybecome a greater investment for operators (which is evident across the mobile industry in Africa) asnetworks become heavily congested and the quality of mobile services drop. This has led to some biginvestment from Ghana's top operators, and in particular, MTN and Tigo.

Investing interest in the country

Leading the charge in providing the necessary network infrastructure for the country is its largestoperator, MTN. Investing a total of GHS 274.3 million in 2013 alone on network and systemsimprovements, expanding their 2G and 3G footprint, improving data speeds and reducing the overallnetwork congestion, the company plans to invest a further GHS 311 million in network improvementand expansion in Ghana in 2014. Holding the spot of the country's third largest provider in terms ofsubscribers, Tigo Ghana recently secured a multi-million dollar investment deal and plans to investmore than USD100,000 a day until the end of October to improve its network and extend services toits 4 million+ customers. A lot is being done to improve mobile services to those in urban areas (whilstbeing costly is still economically viable for telcos to be investing in), but what are operators in Ghanadoing to bring telecommunications to the unconnected in rural areas? The answer is quite a lot,actually!

The light at the end of the tunnel

Indian telecom technology innovation company VNL recently helped connect Ghanaians in the Tamaleregion of Northern Ghana by deploying solar powered GSM base stations in MTN’s network. Seeing anopportunity in areas where 'setting up shop' is a costly endeavor, VNL developed GSM and broadbandnetwork infrastructure equipment that runs purely on solar power and effectively expanded theworldwide market for rural wireless communications by making it affordable for the next billion users.Where before villagers had to travel 5km out of their village to get any signal on their mobile phones,they can now enjoy voice and data access from the comfort of their own homes!

The future of connectivity in Ghana (and developing economies the worldover)

Simple, low cost ICT's like these are the key to opening the world to those otherwise removed from it. Itmeans a lot more to these communities than just being able to make a phone call! With further

deployment of technologies such as VNL's sustainable solar solution, those in rural areas around theworld will be ushered into the information age, an age that holds opportunity for sharing of knowledge,economic development, employment and access to things such as E-health, E-education, E-paymentsand various other applications on the continent that are providing citizens with a better tomorrow.Ghana is a shining example of what can be done to improve lives through technology and hopefullycollaborations such as these will help to act as a stepping stone for many more innovative technologiesto come!

Find out what AMGOO is doing to improve lives through technology in our case study below! See howour affordable, localized solutions helped to capture the Honduran market and provide end-users withpiece of mind

Topics: Operators, Africa mobile industry