New Mobile SIM cards to be registered from June 30, 2010

Accra, June 15, GNA - Mr Haruna Iddrisu, Minister of Communication, on Tuesday said the National

Communication Authority had directed that with effect from June 30, 2010, all new mobile SIM cards

would have to be registered in the name of the user or subscriber before they could be activated for use

on any network. He said existing subscribers would have a period of about 18 months from the said date to transfer

to the new regime. Mr Haruna, who is also a member for Tamale South, answering a question in Parliament from Mr

Simon Osei-Mensah, member for Bosomtwe, explained that there were fraudulent telephone callers in

the system which cost the nation some five million dollars. He said government was working hard to enhance the operations of the telephone industry to stop

such fraud. He said sometimes calls from abroad which should record the new code number were being tampered

with and they came as domestic calls. Mr Osei-Mensah asked the Minister under which legal framework was the on-going registration of

SIM cards being carried out. He said registration of SIM cards was a common practice in the telecom world and that it was

mandatory in countries such as India, South Korea, Nigeria, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Mr Haruna noted that in Ghana the requirement for the registration of SIM cards was provided for in

section 8(2) of the Electronic Communications Act, 2008, Act 775, under the head notes Obligations of

Operations of Electronic Communications Networks and Communications Services and Providers. He said the Authority may authorise a network operator or service provider to disclose lists of its

subscribers, including directory access database, for the publication of directories or for other purposes

that the Authority may specify. He said the rational for the registration exercise as per section 8(2) and 68 of Act 775 was therefore

to enable the operators to obtain a database of their subscribers. The National Communication Authority deems such operational information necessary and or

relevant to help eliminate the growing incidence of anonymous threats and insults emanating from

phone calls made from mobile phones whose owners identity are unknown. Mr Haruna said the registration would therefore help to enhance security, adding that at the same

time fraud, crime and threats perpetrated by unidentified callers would be curtailed through the SIM

card registration. It must also be stated that privacy of the customer was paramount in this exercise because clause

13(7) and 17 of the mobile cellular License required the licenses of operators to use any such personal

information obtained from or about users only in connection with the operation of their licensed

networks or provision of their services, amongst others, he said. They can only share personal information with other operators or affiliates with the consent of the

subscribers. Mr Haruna said, however, per clause 16(1) and 23(1) of scheduled three of the Mobile Cellular

License, the License is obliged to comply with request by the Authority to enable it to carry out its

mandate under the Act which included the protection of consumer interest. It is important to state that one advantage that would accrue from the registration of SIM cards was

to facilitate the deployment of mobile number portability that allows mobile phone users to retain their

numbers, while shifting to a different service provider to have choice and better quality of service, he

said.