Some 9 million unregistered Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards have been deactivated by the telecommunication companies in the country.
This is in compliance with a directive by the National Communications Authority (NCA).
The Communications and Digitalization minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, announced the commencement of the re-registration of all mobile SIM cards on October 1, 2021.
The exercise which was supposed to have lasted a six-month period was extended several times due to challenges faced by SIM card users.
The final deadline however ended yesterday, May 31, 2023.
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Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, Dr. Ken Ashigbey has indicated users can however re-register their SIM cards even though they won’t have access to functions like phone calls.
“Those who have not fully registered their SIM cards will be blocked and as we speak, the numbers of those that will be blocked are about 9 million and then if you consider those on mobile money that will be blocked, they are about 7.4 million, and they will not have access to their mobile money. So on the GSM side, you will not be able to make a call, you will not be able to receive a call, send a text, and also not be able to use data services,” he told Accra-based Citi FM.
He added that the 7.4 million subscribers will not have access to their accounts for failing to register their SIMs. He however assured that monies on SIM cards will be safeguarded by the network operators.
“For the 7.4 million subscribers who have over GH¢200 million on their wallets, when they are barred, they will get the opportunity if they register, they will get their numbers back to have access to their monies and historical records back,” he noted.
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