Samuel Nartey George, the Minister for Communication, Digital Technology, and Innovations, has revealed that the Cabinet has authorised a brand-new national SIM registration campaign after what the government refers to as a thorough examination of the prior procedure.
The Minister states that a number of operational and technological issues, such as lax biometric enforcement, inconsistent data, and cases of registration fraud, were identified during the previous registration campaign.
During high-level talks with the National Communications Authority (NCA) and the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, Mr. George revealed the information.
The suggested new SIM registration process and Ghana’s 5G service rollout plan were the main topics of discussion during the conference.
He underlined that the new endeavour will not be a continuation of the old system but rather a total overhaul intended to bolster security inside the SIM registration framework, enhance regulatory control, and restore credibility.
Important aspects of the new framework for SIM registration
Mr. George outlined the new exercise’s proposed structure and disclosed that, under the updated framework, the NCA will act as the central repository for all SIM registration data.
In an effort to improve data integrity and stop identity-related fraud, biometric verification will also be required for all registrations.
The Minister declared, “A Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) will be introduced to enable cross-network blocking of stolen or fraud-linked devices.”
He also revealed that the government is working on a revised Legislative Instrument (L.I.) to provide the legal foundation for the new registration procedure.
The formal start date of the exercise has not yet been announced by the government, and it is still unclear which parties will pay for the new registration procedure.
Following the first SIM registration drive in 2021, which the current administration claims was hampered by a number of administrative and technological issues, the proposed exercise will be Ghana’s second statewide SIM registration push.
Source: newsthemegh.com