GSM in GHANA II
I've only been in Ghana for about two months now, so maybe someone else with more experience can shed more light on Ghana's GSM networks, but this is what I've learnt from my experiences:
There are 3 GSM networks here in Ghana:
-Spacefone-Areeba (formerly Spacefone) also called Snap or Scancom.
This is the network of the elite and has everything from WAP to downloadable ringtones. As some of you probably know already, Spacefone is an international player in the GSM market and therefore has a lot of stuff to offer. Things like:
-International Roaming
-per-second-billing
-sms
-txt-to-email
-Request a Song (this one was new to me too, it's just what it sounds like)
-downloading of polyphonic ringtones, logos and wallpapers
-sending secret text messages
-WAP
-MMS
-News on Demand, etc.
This network has it all. They also have a large number of roaming agreements with networks all over the world as well as sites like www.sms.ac and www.freeringtones.com. (After all this, they'd probably hire me as their PR agent!) Spacefone is just on the brink of the 1million customer mark. This may not seem like much to a typical Nigerian, but remember that the population of Lagos is almost equal to that of the whole of Ghana.
The downside of Spacefone however is two-fold:
1. Network congestion (everyone wants a good thing)
2. Price (good soup na money make am)
The cost of a Spacefone SIM-card is about 170, 000 cedis (about 2,600naira). They also have higher charges than any of the other networks. Think of this network as a more advanced (and more expensive) Globacom of Ghana.
-Onetouch
This is run by Ghana Telecom and is the local GSM network, something like the NITEL-MTEL relationship. I don't really have much information about this network but i do know that they have two packages:
-Utouch is their basic package and costs 90,000 cedis (about 1,400 naira).
-Onetouch is the package targeted towards users with high call rates and has lower call charges. The Onetouch starter-pack costs 170,000 cedis (about 2,600 naira). Notice that this is the same as the cost of the Spacefone SIM-CARD!
Think of Onetouch as the MTEL of Ghana.
-Buzz
This is a relatively new network run by Mobitel, which previously specialised in only wireless handsets, sort of like First Wireless. This network is still in its infancy and struggling to beat the big boys, though it has no hope of catching Spacefone. Currently they offer services like:
-Per second billing
-sms
-News on Demand
Notice the absence of GPRS, WAP or MMS. Their network performance is also very poor, especially as concerns international calls (as i mentioned in my first email).
A Buzz SIM card costs 90,000 cedis (about 1,400 naira).
The exception to this, occurred during the recent Valentine season where Mobitel offered 2 SIM cards with 2 special numbers in one kit, with 50% lower call charges between the two numbers, for 169,000 cedis (about 2,600 naira). Obviously this was targeted at couples and it really attracted a lot of new customers for Buzz.
For the more technically inclined, here are the code numbers for the networks:
Spacefone 024 (international +233-24)
Onetouch 020 (international +233-20)
Buzz 027 (international +233-27)
Overall, i would rate GSM in Ghana much lower than Nigerian networks (always excluding Spacefone). But things change and i expect the Ghanaian networks to improve rapidly over the coming years.
David Mends
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