Industry News

Many people continue to mass up at telecommunication centers to register their Subscribers Identity Module (SIM) cards, days after being disconnected by the National Communication Authority (NCA).

The Minister of Communication and Digitization, Ursula Owusu Ekuful has allayed the fears of subscribers whose sim cards have been deactivated.

The Ministry of Communications has announced that almost 280,000 merchant SIMs have not been registered, offering fraudsters an opportunity to use them in perpetuating their activities.

The Minister of Communications and Digitalization, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, provided an update on the SIM re-registration exercise in Parliament, stating that all unregistered merchant SIMs will be blocked permanently at the end of June 2023.

“I have also been informed that almost 280,000 merchant SIMs have not been registered. A viral video doing the rounds on social media a few weeks ago indicated that some criminal networks have actually acquired merchant SIMs to facilitate fraudulent activities. Let me reiterate once again, that all unregistered merchant SIMs will be blocked permanently at the end of June 2023,” she stated.

Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful urged victims of illegal acts to notify the National Communications Authority (NCA) for action to be taken against the perpetrators.

She further advised subscribers who were unable to complete the second stage of the registration process to contact the NCA to have their SIMs registered.

“I will urge victims of illegal acts to notify the National Communications Authority (NCA) and action will be taken to deter this process. I have also heard complaints that though they had registered their SIMs, those SIMs were blocked. My information is that several of these complaints are people who didn’t complete the second stage of the process as required. Such people should contact the NCA to have their SIMs registered and owners of the SIMs will get their numbers back after duly registration.

She added, “They must act timeously as the NCA will announce when this moratorium will end after which all unregistered SIMs will permanently be blocked from the networks. If your line has been blocked, and you still need it, please go and register. There may be however some whose SIMs are blocked inadvertently in full registration. Kindly notify the NCA and a full investigation will be conducted to be determined if this was really the case and why it happened”.

The Minister of Communications and Digitalization announced that Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are working with the Bank of Ghana to facilitate the retrieval of funds for individuals whose monies are locked up in mobile money accounts.

Numerous subscribers have voiced their concerns regarding the inability to access their funds on mobile money accounts after their SIM cards were deactivated for failing to re-register them.

The Minister assured subscribers that the MNOs and the Bank of Ghana are working together to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

Source: citibusinessnews

When the National Communications Authority (NCA) fixed June 1, 2023, as the final deadline for the SIM card re-registration, Rita Sey took it with a pinch of salt. She held the belief that it was one of the usual warnings that had accompanied the exercise which began two years ago.

Senegal’s telecommunications regulator (L’Autorite de Regulation des Telecommunications et des Postes, or ARTP) has issued a call for applications for 5G licenses.

Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) affirms its commitment to Africa by concluding leadership led visit delegation engaging with key partners, customers, and industry leaders in Ghana. The engagement accentuates Ericsson’s dedication to advancing Africa’s Information Communication Technology (ICT) and network infrastructure, enabling sustainable connectivity, bridging the digital divide, and driving digital transformation across Africa.

The GSMA spearheaded a campaign to reignite the process of encouraging more women in low- and middle-income countries to access the internet, noting initial progress showed signs of waning, jeopardising long-term targets.

Telecommunications giants in Ghana, MTN has assured its customers who may lose their phone numbers for not re-registering their SIM cards that their MoMo accounts will be safe.

CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, Dr. Kenneth Edem Ashigbey says some nine million SIM cards, seven million of which have mobile money wallets containing over GHS200 million risk being deactivated on Thursday, June 1, 2023.