The National Communications Authority (NCA) has completed the qualification stage of its Request for Applications for spectrum licences in the 700 MHz, 2.3 GHz and 3 GHz bands, with three of the four companies that submitted applications cleared to proceed to the next stage.

According to a press statement issued on Wednesday, September 9, the NCA said it received four applications by the submission deadline of 5:00 p.m. on August 27. Following an assessment of the submissions, three applicants were found to have met the required conditions, while one was disqualified from the process.

The qualified applicants are Scancom Plc (MTN Ghana), Ghana Telecommunications Company Limited (Telecel Ghana), and Goal Telecommunications Ltd.

Infrava Ltd was the only applicant that did not qualify.

According to the NCA, the qualification exercise involved two key assessments under Envelope A, which contained the technical and qualification submissions.

These were the Eligibility Review and the Technical Qualification Assessment, through which the Authority examined whether applicants met the requirements set out in the Request for Applications.

The NCA said it has formally communicated its decisions to all four applicants, including reasons where applicable.

The publication of the qualified and non-qualified applicants is in line with Section 3.3.2(4) of the Request for Applications, the Authority said.

With the qualification stage now complete, only the three successful applicants will advance to Stage 3 of the spectrum selection process.

The NCA confirmed that Envelope B submitted by Infrava Ltd will not be opened, following the company's failure to qualify at the earlier stage.

The next phase will involve the opening and ranking of the Best Price Offers submitted by the qualified applicants.

The Authority said the successful applicants would be notified separately about the date, time and venue for the opening and ranking of their offers.

The process therefore moves from assessing applicants' eligibility and technical qualifications to evaluating the commercial offers of those that have met the required criteria.

The spectrum bands covered by the process — 700 MHz, 2.3 GHz and 3 GHz — are important components of Ghana's telecommunications infrastructure and are being offered through the NCA's competitive licensing process.