GhanaWebNews
  • Home
    • Ghana News >
      • Ghana Elections 2020 Updates
      • Charles Abugre >
        • About Charles Abugre
      • Accra Airport - Welcome Atta Mills
      • Top Pages September 11, 2015
      • Top Pages September 4, 2015
    • About Ghana >
      • Slave Trade a true History
      • Kwame Nkrumah centenary >
        • John Dramani Mahama - Open Mailbox
        • Atta Mills - Open Mailbox
        • Atta Mills - Open Mailbox Page 2
      • People of Ghana
      • Supreme Court of Ghana
      • Flag of Ghana
      • Ghana Highlife and Overview
      • Anthem and Pledge >
        • Bojo Beach Resort
        • KOKROBITE Beach Resort
        • Ghana at Work
        • Ghana Video News
        • Ghana Live Radio
  • Ghana Music
  • Online Shop
  • Ghana Elections 2020
  • Ghana News Archive
    • GhanaWeb News Special
  • Fun and Education
    • Ask John Mahama
  • Accra Airport
    • Kotoka
    • Tamale International Airport
    • Kumasi International Airport
    • Sunyani Airport
    • ECOWAS
  • World Newspaper Headlines
    • Newspaper Headlines - Africa
    • Newspaper Headlines - USA
    • Newspaper Headlines - Canada
  • Terms, Conditions & Privacy Policy
    • About >
      • Contact
  • Ghana Photos
  • Home
    • Ghana News >
      • Ghana Elections 2020 Updates
      • Charles Abugre >
        • About Charles Abugre
      • Accra Airport - Welcome Atta Mills
      • Top Pages September 11, 2015
      • Top Pages September 4, 2015
    • About Ghana >
      • Slave Trade a true History
      • Kwame Nkrumah centenary >
        • John Dramani Mahama - Open Mailbox
        • Atta Mills - Open Mailbox
        • Atta Mills - Open Mailbox Page 2
      • People of Ghana
      • Supreme Court of Ghana
      • Flag of Ghana
      • Ghana Highlife and Overview
      • Anthem and Pledge >
        • Bojo Beach Resort
        • KOKROBITE Beach Resort
        • Ghana at Work
        • Ghana Video News
        • Ghana Live Radio
  • Ghana Music
  • Online Shop
  • Ghana Elections 2020
  • Ghana News Archive
    • GhanaWeb News Special
  • Fun and Education
    • Ask John Mahama
  • Accra Airport
    • Kotoka
    • Tamale International Airport
    • Kumasi International Airport
    • Sunyani Airport
    • ECOWAS
  • World Newspaper Headlines
    • Newspaper Headlines - Africa
    • Newspaper Headlines - USA
    • Newspaper Headlines - Canada
  • Terms, Conditions & Privacy Policy
    • About >
      • Contact
  • Ghana Photos
GhanaWebNews

Telcos, minister disagree on SIM box solution

1/28/2015

Comments

 
Source: B&FT   -  Communications Minister Edward Omane Boamah has set a 2016 target to eliminate the incidence of SIMbox fraud, which is estimated to cost the country in excess of US$70million annually in non-paid taxes.

Mr. Omane Boamah is banking government hopes on the yet-to-be established Interconnect Clearing House to stem the prevalence of a crime that telcos blame for the loss of more than 40 percent of call traffic from the US.

The minister, speaking at a news conference following the arrest of some SIM box operators, said ICH will become fully operational by middle of the year and is capable of rejecting or blocking calls emanating from improperly registered SIM-cards, which fraudsters rely on for their illegal deeds.

SIMbox fraud is a complex fraud system that makes a call from overseas appear on the phone screen as a local call. This is because the fraudsters channel the calls from abroad through unapproved routes by terminating them on SIMboxes fitted with local SIM-cards here in Ghana.

By so doing, the fraudsters gets to keep the international call-rate charged, but the telcos whose SIM-cards are used to terminate the call in Ghana only get paid the local call rate because the call was channelled through a local SIM-card.

But the sector minister, after the arrest of some eight operators, said an end to the illegal activities is in sight. He said: “I’m very confident that where a technology can offer a service, as much as possible we must allow the technology…which is why I want us to work toward smooth implementation of the ICH. I am very confident that by end of December 2015, when the ICH has become fully operational, the story will be significantly different,” he told newsmen.

The telecoms regulator, National Communications Authority, will on February 7 award the licence for the country’s first interconnect clearing house, which is to provide a common independent mechanism that accounts for billing and settlement of interconnected traffic for all existing and future operators in the country.

While the clearing house will take over all the functions relating to preparation of billing information and reconciliation reports, and the reconciliation process itself, Mr. Omane Boamah added that the nagging issue of SIMbox fraud will be eliminated through the ICH by 2016.

But CEO of the Telecoms Chamber Kwaku Sakyi-Addo is adamant that the solution to the SIMboxing lies elsewhere rather than establishing an interconnect clearing house.

Mr. Sakyi Addo speaking an interview with B&FT insisted that: “From where we sit, we are yet to be convinced that ICH is the solution to SIMboxing and even call-billing. The problem of SIMboxing will only be eliminated by a review in the current pricing mechanism rather than a technology -- it is not a technological problem”.

According to the Chamber, the 19 cents per minute charge on international calls is only serving as an incentive for the fraudsters who engage in the illegal operation.

"The current regime makes it extremely expensive to call Ghana, and so it costs 200 times more to call Ghana from the UK than it does to call Nigeria. It also means that even calling Ghana from Togo or from the Ivory Coast or from Sierra Leone or neighboring West African States is costly...It's expensive to call Ghana -- it's 19 cents. And from where we sit, we don't see this as a law and order problem; we don’t see this as a problem created by technology -- we see this as a pricing problem."

Comments
    Ghana Elections 2020

    Categories

    All
    Africa News
    Airline News
    Better Ghana
    Chieftaincy
    Crime In Ghana
    Diasporia
    Doctors Strike
    Education
    Elections 2016
    Food-warning
    General News
    Ghana Election 2020
    Ghana Flood 2015
    Ghana Writers
    Health News
    Proudly Ghana Produced
    Public Agenda Ghana
    Region Accra
    Region Ashanti
    Region Brong Ahafo
    Region Brong-Ahafo
    Region Central
    Region Eastern
    Region-northern
    Regions Of Ghana
    Region Upper East
    Region Upper West
    Region Volta
    Region Western
    Religion
    Rights In Ghana
    Special Extra
    Sport
    Taking Ghana For A RIDE
    Travel Advise
    World News

    More GhanaWeb News 
    LATEST Read Here
    • Newspaper Headlines - Africa
    Ghana Live Radio, Radio Ghana, Listen to Ghana Radio, Ghana Radio, Live Radio, Ghanaweb Radio,
    Weeding photo, Photographer in Ghana, African Wedding, News photographer, Event Photographer, Weddin Ghana, Ghana weddings,

    Home Page

    News Archives

    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    April 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    October 2013

    More Archive News - starting from Sep 17, 2015
    Ghana News Archive
    Ghanaians used as Ebola TEST-PIGS, for Multi-Western Pharma interests!  WARNING !!!
    Picture
    Follow @GhanaNet
    Do you know, the weekday... you where born?  Find out, with our easy calculator!
    Crime in Ghana - Ghana Police News, Ghana Police, Security in Ghana, latest police news,
    Crime in Ghana - News
    1. Supreme Court of Ghana.
    2. Adomi Bridge at Atimpoku
    3. Photo Report:  Ghana at Work
    4. Photo Report: The People of Ghana
    5. Kotoka International Airport -Info`s and Pictures
    6. Tamale International Airport (N/Region)
    7. Older Ghana News 
    8. Charity Ghana-Net​
    9. Advertise FREE: Ghana Real Estates - Sell or Buy. Rent. Offer your services! FREE Ads!
    10. National Museum
    Did you know? 
    Marburg virus and Ebola virus are the SAME..! Read Here!
    Airborne Ebola is "Solution to Earth's Overpopulation Problem.... > More <
    IMF, USA set to ruin Ghana - former British Ambassador

    RSS Feed

    GhanaMirror com, Ghanaweb, Ghana News, Latest, Ghana News Online.  Weekly Updates,  GhanaWebNews
    GhanaWeb-News.com
    GhanaMirror.com
    GhanaMirror.uk

News Websites

  1. Chronicle
  2. Daily Graphic
  3. Daily Guide
  4. District News
  5. Ghana News Agency
  6. Ghanaian Times
  7. Ghana Review
  8. Government News
  9. Joy Online
  10. Peace FM
  11. Radio XYZ
  12. The Statesman
  13. Gye Nyame Concord
  14. Obaasema magazine ​

Connected

  • ghana0.com
  • ghana-net.com
  • NigerianRadio.com​
  • GhanaHotels.biz​
  • GhanaMirror.com
  • ​KenyaWebNews.com

  • Therms & Conditions / Privacy / Contact
  • GhanaMirror.com News Site-Map (Bing)
Ghana Radio Live