Upcoming Phone Registration Exercise Will End Phone Theft- Communication Minister

The Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation, Samuel Nartey George, says the regime where phones are stolen and sold to other people will soon be over thanks to the Central Equipment Identity Register.

The register will keep a record of all phones used in the country and will be compounded alongside the upcoming fresh SIM registration exercise.

“Every phone has an IMEI number which is global and a unique identifier. It’s like the fingerprint of your phone. We are also going to be sending you prompts to do the registration of your phone,” he explained at a press conference on April 9.

This, he said, will deal with phone thefts across the country and beyond.

“If your phone were to be stolen and you were to report it, we would be able to identify if your phone and your number match your Ghana card which you used to verify and register you and immediately triangulate and relocate your phone and disable that phone.

“So the ecosystem for stolen phones is gone. If you steal somebody’s phone and the report is made you can’t sell the phone because nobody can use it because it’s blocked and locked.”

He noted that the register, once compounded, would be merged with that of neighbouring countries.

This, he said, will make it impossible for stolen phones to be sold in the subregion.

“So you can’t steal and take it to Nigeria.”

Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini