Telecommunications companies (Telcos) in Ghana have begun blocking SIM cards of mobile subscribers yet to register their SIM cards.
The exercise follows recent directive from the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization.
“On November 11, 2022 the Ministry announced some measures to be implemented by Operators. Since the 20th of November 2022 our members have been blocking data services for all subscribers who have only completed stage 1 (linkage to Ghana Card) but not stage 2 (biometric capture) of the SIM registration process, as directed by the Ministry”, a statement from the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications said.
“The Chamber is encouraging all subscribers who have acquired Ghana cards but are yet to complete stage 2 (biometric capture) to do so before November 30, 2022,” it added.
According to the Chamber, the telcos involving AirtelTigo, MTN, and Vodafone
are obliged by the directive to completely deactivate all subscriber SIMs which have not completed the biometric capture registration step by the said date.
It further indicated that customers of the networks are not barred from using voice, data, USSD, mobile money services and access to emergency services among others.
“Subscribers with Ghana cards can avoid this inconvenience by completing the registration process,”
“For those that require some special assistance to carry out the registration exercise, kindly contact the NCA or your Mobile Network Operator. We are confident that the sector Ministry and NCA will announce measures to accommodate individuals who genuinely do not have Ghana cards, once ongoing consultations have been completed. 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,” the statement added.
The announcement further mentioned that on November 30, 2022, all network services for users who have just completed the first stage of registration will be deactivated.
