Globacom threatens to pull out from Ghana

Nigerian mobile investor Globacom is threatening to

withdraw from Ghana amid claims that its infrastructure

is being sabotaged.

Globacom was issued a license in 2008 and had initially

scheduled to launch GSM and WCDMA networks by end-2009.

But Globacom is still to launch services in Ghana. The

operator claims that its infrastructure has been

sabotaged, frequencies have been interfered with and its

advertising has been vandalised. The operator has also

suffered from a ban on the erection of new mobile masts.

Ghana has five mobile operators: Zain, Vodafone, MTN,

Millicom and Kasapa. MTN is the market leader with 8.4

million subscriptions at end-March, according to Informa

Telecoms & Media. Ghana had a penetration rate of 63.57%

at end-March.

Globacom also runs mobile operations in Nigeria and Benin

republic and has invested in sub-marine cable Glo-1. The

cable was expected to go live in 2009 with planned

landing points in Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Mauritania,

Morocco, Portugal, Spain and UK, but this cable is also

yet to be operational.