Africa Business Communities

[BLOG] Ghana telecom sector records lowest inflation rate 2012 – continues to thrive

By Andrea Ayemoba

Ghana’s Telecom sector recorded an average of 0.4% inflation rate year end December 2012, which was the lowest for all sectors according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) ending December 2012.

The country closed the year with 8.8% inflation rate, of which the non-food sector contributed 78.4% and food sector contributed 21.6%. The telecom subsector belongs to the non-food sector, but its contribution to the total inflation from that sector was 0.0% according to the CPI.

Indeed, during the year, the prices of telecom services came down in some case as service providers embarked on several promotions to excite existing customers and to win new customers. The telcos also continued to absorb some costs such as communication service tax, MNP cost and other ever-increasing operational cost elements on behalf of their customers.

Industry regulator, National Communication Authority (NCA) is glad about the relatively low inflation in the telecom sector because that means consumers of telecom services continue to enjoy services at affordable rates. The regulator is of the view that this has been made possible because the telecom operators may be managing their operations more efficiently than the other utility service providers.

Competition remains the key factor in industry development in Ghana, and indeed, anywhere else in the world.

With the emergence of Globacom, African’s largest private-owned telecom company, Ghanaians saw more job opportunities, promotional excitements and buzzing activity than was previously the case. Other industry giants such as MTN and AIRTEL, perhaps in a bid to quell the effect of their new competition on the market, embarked on several job-creating activities – expansion of offices, training and recruitment of more customer service agents, sponsored education and scholarship programmes for students, etc.

The NCA remains optimistic of the telecom sector in Ghana for the year 2013, both for the youth and for the nation at large.

 

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