NCA orders telcos to delink all blocked SIMS from its databases by April 17

Telecommunications companies have been ordered to delink all disconnected SIM cards from their databases by April 17, 2023.

According to the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, telecommunication networks (AirtelTigo, MTN, and Vodafone) must comply with the directive received from the National Communications Authority (NCA) regarding the ongoing SIM registration exercise.

The directive issued on April 13, 2023, is as follows:

1. All disconnected SIMs are to be delinked from all databases by Monday, April 17, 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, this included SIMs that were blocked in November 2022 for not having completed both stages of the sim registration.

2. All sim cards registered after the limit of 10 per individual are to be delinked, deactivated, and removed from all databases by Monday, April 17, 2023.

A statement from the Chamber said, “Since November 2022, our members have been blocking services for subscribers who have not completed both stages of the SIM registration process, as directed by the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation.”

However, the Chamber is encouraging all subscribers who have acquired Ghana cards but are yet to complete registration to do so before April 17, 2023. All subscribers with more than 10 SIMs registered to themselves have also been asked to visit their nearest mobile network operator’s service centres to urgently verify their SIMs on record.

“Our members are obliged by the directive to completely deactivate all impacted subscriber SIMs which have not completed the registration by the said date without any further notice or extension of time for subscribers.

“It is important that the cherished customers of the networks are not barred from using voice, data, USSD, and mobile money services and continue to have access to emergency and other important services.

“Subscribers with Ghana cards can avoid this inconvenience by completing stage 2 (the biometric capture) of the registration process,” the telcos Chamber said.

source: Ghana Web