Ralph Mupita, MTN Group chief executive officer, announced during a visit to President Nana Akufo-Addo in New York at the 77th UN General Assembly that MTN expressed a strong interest in participating in any future 5G spectrum auction in Ghana.
According to Mupita, MTN Ghana is only waiting for regulatory approvals from the authorities to begin offering ultra-broadband services to Ghanaians while it has already upgraded more than 1,322 telecom sites ready for 5G deployment.
As of August 2021, MTN began to display its ambitions for 5G in Ghana as part of its "Ambition 2025" strategy. A pilot phase of the latest generation of mobile technology was planned to begin in March. However, it had to put the project on hold as discussions with the National Communications Authority (NCA) were unsuccessful and are still ongoing.
The deployment of 5G in Ghana is of critical importance to MTN's ambition to become a "leading provider of digital solutions for Africa's progress." The company is aware that the 98% 4G coverage it has planned for the end of 2022 will not be enough to achieve this goal in an environment marked by high digital demand. In its latest "Mobility Report," Ericsson said that "5G networks will play a key role in delivering the technology pillars to realize MTN's Ambition 2025 plan."