Disconnection: SIM cards re-registration ends

All SIM Cards that have been linked to Ghana Cards (i.e. completed Stage 1 registration), but have not completed their Stage 2 registration will be blocked from the end of October.

Some 23.8 million (23,818,998) SIM Cards which are not registered at all or not fully registered are to be blocked.

10m completed only stage 1 registration

This includes almost 10 million people who have linked their SIM Cards to their Ghana Cards (i.e. completed Stage 1 registration) but have not completed their Stage 2 registration.

28.9m did only stage 1 registration

Out of the 42.7 million (42,749,662) total SIM cards issued some 28.9 million (28,959,006) SIM Cards have been linked to Ghana Cards (Stage 1 registration); representing 67.28%

18.9m SIM cards fully registered

Some 18.9 million (18,930,664) SIM Cards have been fully registered (Completed both Stages 1 and 2) – representing 44.28% of the total SIM cards issued.

This equates to 69.64% of all Stage 1 registrations.

13.7m did not attempt to register

More than one year after re-registration of SIM cards commenced, owners of 13.7 million (13,790,656) made no attempt to register their SIM cards as at end of September 2022.

This represents 32.72% of the 42.7 million (42,749,662) total SIM cards issued in the country.

13.7m unique Counts of Ghana Cards used

Also, 13.7 million (13.7 13,720,687) unique Counts of Ghana Cards have been used so far for the registration exercise.

Data-only SIMs given up to November

Data-only SIMs including those issued by Surfline, Busy Internet, Telesol, and any institution such as ECG, have up to the end of November to complete registration.

A successful SIM Card registration exercise is an essential part of this goal and appealed to all to put the national interest first and do the right thing for this country.

Regulation 1(b) of the Subscriber Identity Module Registration Regulations, 2011 (L.I 2006) states that “A network operator or service provider shall not activate a Subscriber Identity Module for a subscriber unless the subscriber complies with the directives given by the Authority under the Act and the National Communications Authority Act, 2008, (Act 769) on the registration of Subscriber Identity Module.”

This imposes a legal obligation on all Network Operators to activate only SIMs registered in the manner prescribed by the NCA on their network.

Any SIM which is not duly registered in accordance with NCA directives cannot be activated on any network in Ghana.

The Authority, NCA, therefore, has the power to issue directives detailing the entire procedure for SIM registration and to impose penalties/sanctions for noncompliance with the Directives.

First deadline

Last year, the government, through the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization, gave a directive that all Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards should be reregistered over a six-month period spanning October 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022 using the Ghana Card.

Second deadline

The deadline was extended to Sunday, July 31, 2022.

Third deadline

The deadline was again extended to September 30, 2022, for the mandatory SIM card registration with the Ghana card to allow users of 26 million (26,062,571) unregistered SIM representing 62% of total voice SIM cards to do so.

The Ghana card-SIM registration exercise is intended to build a SIM database with integrity to curb fraudulent activities and secure sim card-based transactions while aiding the determination of accurate valid SIM cards across telecommunications networks at any point in time.

That is to synchronize the details on one’s Ghana Card, a national identification card, with those used for the SIM registration to avoid the situation where some unscrupulous persons acquire a number SIM cards using different unverified details so they can avoid being found out when they perpetrate crime.

Stemming increasing incidents of fraud

The initiative is, therefore, meant to stem the increasing incidents of fraud using the phone and also to monitor and track down persons who will use their phones for all manner of criminal activities.