{"id":96133,"date":"2025-09-28T06:50:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-28T06:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=96133"},"modified":"2025-09-28T06:50:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-28T06:50:12","slug":"5g-is-a-long-way-to-go-mtn-ghana-ceo-admits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=96133","title":{"rendered":"5G is a long way to go \u2014 MTN Ghana CEO admits"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>2 Minute, 23 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
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The implementation of 5G technology in Ghana faces significant challenges related to delayed regulatory processes, low device accessibility, and the enduring reliance of the population on older network infrastructure, according to Stephen Blewett, Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana.<\/p>\n

Speaking on Joy FM\u2019s Personality Profile with Lexis Bill<\/em><\/strong>, Mr. Blewett acknowledged the long journey ahead for Ghana to fully realize the transformative impact of the fifth-generation network technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019ve got a long way to go in 5G. I think it\u2019s unfortunate that it\u2019s taken a while for us to get there,\u201d Mr. Blewett stated, alluding to the regulatory and licensing steps required for commercial rollout.<\/p>\n

The Device Dilemma: Only 1 Million 5G-Ready Devices<\/strong><\/p>\n

While 5G promises speeds up to 100 times faster than current 4G networks and ultra-low latency critical for industrial automation and remote medical services, the immediate consumer uptake faces a substantial hurdle in device penetration.<\/p>\n

Mr. Blewett revealed a key data point illustrating the current market limitation, \u201cIt\u2019s important to understand that in terms of the number of devices, there\u2019s only a million devices that can use 5G as we currently sit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Given Ghana\u2019s estimated population of over 34 million and a mobile penetration rate exceeding 120%, the figure of one million 5G-ready devices represents a tiny fraction of the potential user base.<\/p>\n

This low penetration rate significantly limits the immediate commercial viability of an expensive nationwide 5G infrastructure investment.<\/p>\n

The 3G\/4G Migration Bottleneck<\/strong><\/p>\n

The MTN Ghana CEO stressed that the push for 5G must not overshadow the necessity of migrating millions of customers from older, slower networks. He pointed out that a large segment of the market still uses legacy infrastructure.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we have a lot of people still sitting on 3G, then we have to move up to 4G, and so that step has to happen,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

This need for phased technological advancement is a major operational challenge for MTN, which serves as Ghana\u2019s largest mobile network operator. <\/p>\n

The company must balance significant capital expenditure to support the growing demand for faster 4G (LTE) data\u2014which currently handles the bulk of data traffic\u2014while preparing the financial and infrastructure ground for the next-generation 5G launch.<\/p>\n

Despite these hurdles, Mr. Blewett affirmed 5G\u2019s critical role in national development. <\/p>\n

\u201c5G as a technology is important for expansion of our economy but it doesn\u2019t mean 5G shouldn\u2019t come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Industry analysts suggest that for 5G to achieve its potential in Ghana\u2014particularly in high-growth areas like FinTech, e-commerce, and the burgeoning AI sector\u2014the cost of 5G-compatible smartphones must fall substantially, and the government must provide regulatory clarity on spectrum allocation and pricing to give operators the confidence to commit the necessary multi-million dollar investments in network equipment and fiber backbone infrastructure.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"5GThe implementation of 5G technology in Ghana faces significant challenges related to delayed regulatory processes, low device accessibility, and the enduring reliance of the population on older network infrastructure, according to Stephen Blewett, Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5466,12,1966,1996,2967,5203,117,10,9,2965],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-96133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-5g","category-business","category-hp-news-6","category-in-focus","category-mtn","category-mtn-ghana","category-news","category-politics","category-popular","category-telecom"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=96133"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96133\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=96133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=96133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=96133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}