Claims by the ICT Chamber that there is a deliberate effort to push Ghanaian-owned firms away in the licensing of a high-speed data spectrum have been thrown out by the industry regulator.

Director of Consumer and Corporate Affairs at the National Communication Authority (NCA), Nana Dufie Badu, says the allegations by the Chief Executive of the ICT Chamber, Paul Adom-Otchere, are without merit.

Nana Dufie Badu, said on PM Express Thursday that the NCA over the past years has rather encouraged Ghanaian participation in the telecommunication space.

The ICT Chamber held a press conference Thursday claiming the telecoms regulator’s stance relating to an auction of spectrum for the deployment of 4G internet capacity across the country was not in the national interest.

Surfline Communications, Gold Key Telecoms and Blu Telecoms – existing 4G LTE operators in the country – are members of the ICT Chamber.

“The posturing of the NCA could occasion significant loss of investment and loss of opportunity to create a giant Ghanaian ICT centre similar to what they have in the United States, England and South Africa”, the ICT Chamber Chief Executive had said.

Paul Adom-Otchere claims the NCA was shifting the goalposts and going against an earlier promise to allocate the 4G LTE spectrum to Ghanaian-owned telecom firms only.

However, the NCA’s Consumer and Corporate Affairs director thinks Paul-Adom-Otchere would have to check his facts.

“The NCA has no documentary evidence that it promised that it was going to leave the LTE sector for local Ghanaian companies. What we have done is to make sure that there is room for Ghanaian-owned companies to take part,” she told host of PM Express Malik Abass Daabu.

She explains further that the eligibility criteria for applicants in the 4G LTE spectrum auction states clearly that bidding firms must have “a minimum of 35% local Ghanaian participation or local Ghanaian ownership”.

According to her, this critical criteria was arrived at after several consultations with key industry players, including Ghanaian-owned firms in the telecoms space.

ICT Chamber’s press conference also took a swipe at MTN, Ghana’s voice and data telecommunication market leader, claiming the country of origin of MTN (South Africa) does not allow foreign participation in 4G spectrum, hence MTN should not be allowed to bid for the spectrum.

MTN is among four telcos bidding for the 4G LTE spectrum.

Ebenezer Twum-Asante

Chief Executive of MTN, Ebenezer Twum-Asante, who was also on PM Express Thursday said the Chamber’s facts are once again wrong.

“Sometimes I wonder where the facts are coming from. Vodacom, the market leader in South Africa, belongs to Vodafone, a British company, they have 4G LTE and they deployed it several years ago, just as MTN has it,” he pointed out.

According to Mr Twum-Asante, although a push for indigenous companies to own the 4G LTE space in Ghana is on point, the national interest would not be served if foreign companies with the capacity to deploy a better service are sidelined.

He said the national interest first and foremost must take into consideration the need to provide Ghanaians with the best service, so they “can enjoy the best of speed available just as any other player in any advanced market as far as ICT is concerned”.

He said more than 96% of MTN Ghana employees are Ghanaians and all the telco's distributors and suppliers are Ghanaian, suggesting that the telecoms giant's operations in the country benefits the country significantly.

He revealed further that about 80% of the revenue generated at MTN is retained in Ghana.