Communications and security experts IN Ghana have revealed that a little over $900,000 has been lost in just five months due the activities of SIM box operators in the country.
SIM box operators allow calls from international destinations to be diverted to Ghana as local calls and at a cheaper rate charging international carriers the local interconnect charge thereby depriving the nation of revenue.
The experts say regulatory measures to check the telecom industry are required in order to avoid such loses.
The Parliament has passed into law the Electronic Communications (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which is expected to streamline and rationalize activities of the various players in the telecommunications industry.
The Bill amended the Electronic Communications Act, 2008 (Act 775) to provide among others, a regulatory mechanism for clearing house services through the establishment of an Interconnect Clearinghouse (ICH) by the National Communications Authority (NCA) to address current regulatory, technical and financial challenges related to interconnection in the sector.
Ghana’s ICH would be operated by Afriwave Telecoms Ghana and is expected to route both local and international traffic.
Operators would still work with the current arrangement until the ICH facility becomes fully operational within the next six months for a complete switch over.
