NCA orders SIM Card delinking and deactivation
The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications has announced that its members, AirtelTigo, MTN, and Vodafone, will comply with a recent directive from the National Communications Authority (NCA) regarding the ongoing SIM registration exercise. The directive, issued on April 13, 2023, requires that all disconnected SIMs be delinked from all databases by Monday, April 17, 2023, including those blocked in November 2022 for not completing both stages of the sim registration. Additionally, all SIM cards registered after the limit of 10 per individual are to be delinked, deactivated, and removed from all databases by the same date.
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 Chamber is encouraging all subscribers who have acquired Ghana cards but have not completed registration to do so before April 17, 2023. The announcement also urges subscribers with more than 10 SIMs registered to themselves to visit their nearest mobile network operator’s service centers to urgently verify their SIMs on record. The Chamber emphasizes that failure to comply with the directive will result in the complete deactivation of impacted subscriber SIMs without any further notice or extension of time.
The impact of this directive on the Ghanaian telecommunications industry cannot be understated. The Chamber’s members have invested heavily in arrangements to ensure that subscribers who have their Ghana cards and are ready to register get registered at any of their several touchpoints across the country. However, the delinking and deactivation of SIMs will have a significant impact on the revenues of the telecommunication companies, as well as the customers who rely on their services.
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.
Despite the challenges posed by the SIM registration exercise, the Chamber’s 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. The Chamber’s announcement highlights the importance of customers complying with the directive in order to avoid inconvenience and continue to have access to vital telecommunications services.
