Ghana's communications authority has slapped the country's sixth licensed mobile operator Glo Mobile with a fine of $200,000 for failing to meet a deadline of starting its full operations by 20 April 2012.
The mobile operator won the license to operate in Ghana in 2008 but has since failed to roll-out its full services.
Subsequently, the country’s National Communications Authority (NCA) has issued the operator the fine for failing to provide service to at least in six regions within the first three years of the effective date that the company won its license.
"It does appear that Glo Mobile is unable to meet some requirement which was part of Glo Mobile cellular license framework when it was issued with that license … and they were required to roll out in at least six regions of Ghana," said Ghana’s communications minister, Haruna Iddrisu.
"Glo has no justification for not launching onto the Ghanaian market,” Iddrisu added.
The fine, he said, was in accordance with Act 769, which required the NCA, within a year, to slap certain sanctions, adding, “whatever explanation” Glo Mobile is giving for failing to launch is “unsatisfactory.”
He said the NCA wrote to the operator on February 28 and March 5, to which Glo Mobile responded and gave the telecoms regulator every assurance that they would launch by April 20.
Iddrisu refuted assertions that the move may deter investors from investing in the country.
“Investors must respect the laws of our country and they must respect conditions to which they agree to.
"There are penalties for failure to meet expansion requirements and we have been hesitant. But we ultimately must ensure that we deepen competition as we pledged," said Iddrisu.
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