Mobile phone snatching would soon be a thing of the past as the Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful plans a technology intervention to address the problem.
Phone snatching involves criminals snatching mobile devices from their owners.
Nima, Kwame Nkrumah Interchange and Ashaiman are some notorious areas for phone snatching after which the criminals sell the devices to others as second-hand products at cheap prices.
As the ministry plans to roll out more programmes, the minister is optimistic that measures could be implemented to tackle the crime.
“We are in the process and I indicated at the time when we were doing the SIM registration that we will set up a central equipment identity as well which will collect the phone number, the IMEI number and EMC…,” She said. “Every device has a unique number so once you connect, your network knows that this device is live and that is why they can tell you, send you messages to activate certain products or apps on your device”.
“Nobody has to queue to register any device. If your device is lost or stolen, you can report it and it will be blocked and you can’t use the device in this country anymore,” She further explained.
The minister also complained about high taxes on internet devices.
Consequently, she revealed that her ministry was working with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Finance Ministry to lower the taxes to enable more people to access the devices.
“I think currently, there is a 30% tax on devices, which I think is too high.”
This decision comes after the government of Ghana announced its partnership with seven industry players on a new shared infrastructure to deliver affordable 5G mobile broadband services across Ghana.
The seven partners are Ascend Digital, K-NET, Radisys, Nokia, and Tech Mahindra and two telcos AT Ghana and Telecel Ghana.
The partnership aims to enhance the lives of Ghanaians by introducing digital services in education, healthcare, and digital payment transactions through P2P (peer-to-peer), P2M (peer-to-merchant) and M2M (merchant-to-merchant) systems, thereby reducing -digital divide and promoting financial inclusion.
Additionally, the multiplayer partnership will support NGIC in the entire deployment of network infrastructure and associated services, as communications service providers (CSPs) are looking to address enterprise and consumer markets with enhanced digital services.
To achieve this, Tech Mahindra will build a Cloud Native Core Network powered by leading OEM (original equipment manufacturer) platforms.
NGIC plans to adopt India’s successful model of affordable handsets, digital platforms, and localized content and applications. The goal is to replicate this high-speed mobile data model across Africa, beginning with Ghana.
Minister for Communications and Digitalization, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful said, “The creation of a shared 5G Mobile Broadband Infrastructure is critical for delivering affordable, high-speed data access to the people of Ghana and help achieve our Digital Ghana vision. The creation of NGIC as a neutral, shared platform, accessible to all mobile network operators and tower companies, will help to expand 5G services rapidly across the country. We are inspired by India’s digital infrastructure and low-cost mobile data usage and keen to replicate it in Ghana.”
