The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications has announced its intention to ensure that its members, Airtel Tigo, MTN, and Vodafone, comply with the recent directive from the National Communications Authority (NCA) regarding the ongoing SIM registration exercise.
In a statement, the Chamber said its members have been blocking services for subscribers since November 2022, who have not completed both stages of the SIM registration process, as directed by the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation.
The directive issued on April 13, 2023, by the NCA indicated that all disconnected SIMs are to be delinked from all databases by tomorrow April 17, 2023.
For the avoidance of doubt, this included SIMs that were blocked in November 2022 for not having completed both stages of the SIM registration.
Again, all SIM cards registered after the limit of 10 per individual are to be delinked, deactivated and removed from all databases by Monday, April 17, 2023.
The Chamber of Telecommunication has therefore encouraged all subscribers who have acquired Ghana cards but are yet to complete registration to do so before April 17, 2023.
“All subscribers with more than 10 SIMs registered to themselves should also visit their nearest mobile network operator’s service centres to urgently verify their SIMs on record. Our members are obliged by the directive to completely deactivate all impacted subscriber SIMs which have not completed the registration by the said date without any further notice or extension of time for subscribers.
“It is important that the cherished customers of the networks are not barred from using voice, data, USSD, mobile money services and continue to have access to emergency and other important services.”
Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications
It added that subscribers with Ghana cards can avoid this inconvenience by completing stage 2 (the biometric capture) of the registration process.
Furthermore, it said since the start of the SIM Registration Exercise, the members of the Chamber have invested heavily in arrangements to ensure that subscribers who have their Ghana cards and are ready to register, get registered at any of our several touchpoints across the country.
“For those that require some special assistance to carry out the registration exercise, kindly contact your service provider.
“Our members remain committed to supporting the efforts of all stakeholders to ensure that every customer in every part of the country is able to register their SIM card(s) with the Ghana card.”
Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications
Ghana SIM Registration Exercise
The SIM registration exercise has been ongoing in Ghana since its inception in 2010. It aims to ensure that all mobile phone users in the country are identified and registered using their Ghana card, which is a national identification card issued by the government of Ghana.
The exercise has been implemented in two stages: the first stage requires users to provide basic identification information, while the second stage involves biometric data capture, which includes fingerprints and facial recognition.
The Ghanaian government has been implementing various measures to ensure the success of the SIM registration exercise.
The Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation has been at the forefront of these efforts, with the support of the NCA and other stakeholders in the telecommunications industry.
The government has emphasized the need for the exercise to be completed in order to enhance national security and improve service delivery in the telecommunications industry.
Read also: Ghanaian Journalists Pledge To Inform The Public About Harmful Effects Of SSBs
