Everywhere you go in Ghana, the color yellow hums in the background — on billboards, roadside kiosks, football jerseys, and mobile money signs nailed to wooden stalls. The glow is unmistakable. It’s not just branding anymore; it’s a presence. For most Ghanaians, MTN isn’t a company. It’s the network.
But what happens when you don’t use it?
I’ve been a Telecel (formerly Vodafone) and AirtelTigo user for years — not because I enjoy suffering, but because I believe in options. I’ve always liked the underdog story: smaller networks with cheaper data, flexible bundles, and the occasional generous promo. Yet no matter how much I try to stay outside MTN’s orbit, I can’t escape its gravity. Every time I meet someone new or fill a digital form, the same question greets me — “You don’t have an MTN number?”
That’s the quiet tax of living in a monopoly: you pay with inconvenience.
The Everyday Struggle of the Non-MTN User
My AirtelTigo line often feels like an act of rebellion. Calls drop mid-sentence. Data speeds vary wildly depending on which side of Accra I stand. There are moments when I hold my phone up like an ancient radio antenna, praying for bars. On bad days, I forward everything to my Telecel SIM, whose data is steady but whose customer support sometimes feels like a call to another planet.
And still, the biggest problem isn’t quality — it’s accessibility.
Business deals, MoMo transactions, delivery riders, even church groups — everyone assumes you’re on MTN. Send money to another network and you’ll pay a little more. Call across networks and you’ll burn through airtime faster. A friend once said, “Just buy an MTN SIM. Life is easier that way.” He was right, but it felt like surrender.
How MTN Built the Fortress
MTN didn’t stumble into dominance. It engineered it.
When it entered Ghana in 2006, acquiring Areeba from Investcom, it came with deep pockets and a long game. While other networks focused on the big cities, MTN built reach — stretching fiber across rural Ghana, installing towers in places competitors ignored, and ensuring even the most remote communities could access a signal. By 2012, MTN’s subscriber base had already surpassed 10 million, accounting for nearly half the mobile market (NCA Quarterly Statistical Bulletin, 2012).
By the time others caught on, the foundation was already laid. MTN wasn’t just selling SIM cards; it was building infrastructure. And when 4G arrived, they had the towers, the backbone, and the money to roll it out faster than anyone else. In 2016, MTN Ghana became the first network to launch 4G LTE nationwide (Citi Business News, 2016).
Then came the masterstroke — Mobile Money.
MTN MoMo didn’t just offer convenience; it gave millions of Ghanaians their first experience with digital finance. By 2023, over 15.2 million active MoMo users were transacting monthly (MTN Ghana Annual Report 2023). Every kiosk, fuel station, and trotro stop turned into a banking agent. While Vodafone Cash and AirtelTigo Money tried to compete, MTN had already made “MoMo” a verb. Today, when someone says, “I’ll momo you,” no one asks which network.
The Silent Collapse of Competition
Ghana’s telecom landscape once had variety: OneTouch, Tigo, Kasapa, Expresso. One by one, they folded, merged, or lost relevance.
Vodafone’s evolution into Telecel was a necessary rebirth — a red flag raised to signal new life. The rebrand looks bold and modern, but its rollout has been slow to match MTN’s intensity. Telecel’s data bundles are attractive, but the coverage still trails behind, and customers who migrated years ago to MTN rarely return.
AirtelTigo, meanwhile, had one of the best merger opportunities in Ghana’s telecom history. Two mid-tier networks combining forces should have created a serious challenger. Instead, they struggled to merge cultures, systems, and trust. By 2021, their combined market share had fallen below 15%, while MTN’s soared above 60% (NCA Market Share Report, 2021).
While these networks debated strategy, MTN doubled down on presence: more towers, smoother customer care, and deeper integration with fintechs and startups. The result? MTN became the default choice — not necessarily because it’s perfect, but because it’s everywhere.
When Dominance Becomes Dependency
MTN’s strength today is not just infrastructure; it’s psychology.
People trust what everyone else uses. Businesses prioritize MTN integrations first. Delivery riders carry MTN numbers. Even government services like SIM registration or e-levy payments often function more seamlessly through MTN’s systems.
So when the National Communications Authority (NCA) labeled MTN a Significant Market Power (SMP) in 2020, it wasn’t a surprise — it was a confirmation (Graphic Online, 2020).
The government’s attempt to level the field by forcing infrastructure sharing and lowering interconnect fees was noble but slow. The truth is, MTN’s lead isn’t something that regulation alone can undo; it’s a cultural habit that’s calcified over time.
For consumers like me, that dominance feels like dependency. I might prefer Telecel’s customer service or AirtelTigo’s data value, but at the end of the day, I still keep an MTN SIM tucked somewhere — like a spare key to the digital world.
Is There Hope for a More Balanced Future?
There’s potential.
Telecel’s global network could breathe new energy into Ghana’s data scene if it invests aggressively in 5G rollout and fiber partnerships. AirtelTigo could carve a niche by focusing on underserved communities and data-heavy users who crave value.
Fintech players like Zeepay, Hubtel, and PayAngel are already challenging MTN’s MoMo monopoly by building independent payment rails that work across networks. If these ecosystems grow — and if interoperability becomes truly seamless — the stranglehold might finally loosen.
But breaking a monopoly requires more than competition; it requires trust. Trust that another network can deliver consistently, that another wallet won’t delay transfers, that another brand will still be around five years from now.
Stuck in the Yellow Light
I often joke that MTN doesn’t need to advertise anymore — Ghana advertises for it. From trotro drivers shouting “MTN MoMo!” to schoolchildren reciting their jingle, the network has fused itself with our identity.
As a Telecel and AirtelTigo user, I’m constantly reminded that I’m living in a country where choice exists, but convenience doesn’t share equally.
MTN’s dominance isn’t about greed or luck; it’s about a perfect alignment of infrastructure, timing, and trust. And unless the rest of the market learns to compete on those same terms, the color yellow will keep defining what it means to be connected in Ghana.
“We don’t just use MTN,” someone once told me. “We live in it.”
And that, perhaps, is the most honest summary of Ghana’s telecom story.