World Dialogue on Regulation

Since 1994, the number of fixed line telephone subscribers in Ghana has grown from app. 50,000 to 275,000 and, in the same period of time, mobile subscribers have gone up from a couple of thousands to more than 300,000. All in all, this looks like a success story. However, the goals set by government have only partly been met – especially with respect to the development in rural areas – and the quality of service is still low and has even deteriorated on some indicators. There is, therefore, a widespread dissatisfaction with the general telecom development in Ghana among users as well as policy decision makers and administrators. 

This is, in very brief terms, the general description of the telecom development and present situation in Ghana, and the aim of this paper is to analyze this development and situation and to discuss the reasons behind the successes and failures experienced, in particular with respect to investments.