Mobile phone users in Ghana to reach 70% of population end of 2010

The telecommunications companies in Ghana have taken centre-stage in Ghana’s economy as the oil industry which is expected to make a huge impact is about to begin in November or December 2010.

The mobile phone companies put together, are the fastest growing businesses as a large number of Ghanaians use mobile phones.

The number of mobile phone users in Ghana, has therefore, been predicted to reach 70% of the country’s total population of about 23 million.

A new report by the Business Monitor International (BMI) which says on its website that it is a leading, independent provider of proprietary data, analysis, ratings, rankings and forecasts covering 175 countries and 22 industry sectors, has said.

According to BMI, in the first six months of 2010, it calculated that the number of mobile subscribers increased by 7.3% to reach 16.475 million.

For the year as a whole, BMI says it now predicts that the market will expand by just over 14%. This will raise the penetration rate to just over 70% by the end of 2010.

Ghana has six mobile phone companies licensed to do business in the country, but only five are in operation. These are MTN, which is the largest, Tigo, the oldest mobile phone provider, Vodafone, Zain and Kasapa. The sixth provider, Globacom is yet to start operations.

It is however, expected that when Globacom begins operations the number of subscribers will rise.

On the other hand, the introduction of compulsory SIM registration, which became effective on July 1, 2010, will result in much weaker mobile customer growth in 2010, compared with 2009, the report said.

It could also result in the widespread deduction of inactive and unregistered mobile customers by the operators, it added.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi