Ekeomah Atuonwu
As the registration window closes, the Ghanaian government will block around 10 million Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards.
After a year-long nationwide registration effort, the communications authority and industry regulator will on October 31 cut phone and data connections for unverified cards.
The communication authority extended the verification deadline by two months in July so that residents of Ghana, including citizens and non-citizens, may link their identity cards to their SIM cards and finish the registration procedure.
By the 4th of October, about 19 million SIM cards—or around 45% of all cards issued—had been fully registered.
Owners of SIM cards must link their national identification cards issued by Ghana to their SIMs before proceeding with complete registration and biometric data collection with their service providers.
According to the government, the purpose of the SIM registration process is to safeguard users from fraud and ensure online security.
