Ghana has a vast market for mobile phone devices with about 34 million mobile subscribers and a penetration rate exceeding 119 per cent, Mrs Ursula Owusu Ekuful, Minister of Communications, has said.

She however, observed that some subscribers use substandard and smuggled devices, a situation that poses threats to cyber security.

Speaking at a press at the Ministry of Information auditorium on Monday 14th October, 2019, she said: “Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, Ghana has about 34 million mobile subscribers with a mobile penetration rate exceeding 119%. It is a huge market for mobile devices, however some subscribers use substandard and smuggled devices, resulting in cyber security threats, has health implications and revenue loss for importers, Government of Ghana and operators.

“Mobile device manufacturers estimate that about 5 million genuine mobile devices are imported into the country annually. The unregulated market in Ghana has resulted in a thriving device black market with sales of substandard mobile devices, a high incidence of device theft and cloning of devices. Substandard and smuggled devices are sold through visible retail sites, unofficial retail outlets and online websites.

“Registered businesses have to deal with unfair competition from these devices, which are cheaper and threaten the survival of legitimate businesses.”

She added: “To address the challenges of the thriving trade in substandard equipment, the Ministry will establish a Central Equipment Identity Registry (CEIR) to register all devices in the country and reduce the influx of stolen, substandard and counterfeit mobile devices. The CEIR has the capability of blocking all unregistered mobile devices and preventing them from operating on any network in Ghana.

“The Ghana CEIR will be connected to the Global System for Mobile Communication Association (GSMA) database to access the IMEI of approved and blacklisted devices. This will ensure that mobile devices entering the country are properly authenticated and give us an idea of the scale of use of grey or black market devices in Ghana.

“It will also be connected to the EIR databases of all mobile network operators in Ghana, to synchronize and update data on blacklisted and whitelisted devices in Ghana. This will ensure that only approved mobile devices recognized by the CEIR would function in Ghana. It will generate and store a list of all blacklisted and whitelisted devices in our own repository.

“The CEIR will also be connected to the National Communications Authority and Security agencies to minimise device theft and use of substandard and counterfeit mobile devices.

“Current technology trends in the manufacture of mobile devices demonstrates its possible utility for e-voting, e-commerce, access to government services, etc. It is therefore important to ensure data confidentiality, integrity, protection and security of mobile devices. The CEIR will promote security, confidence and trust in the digital infrastructure of the country and generate user acceptance. Device theft will be curbed as the CEIR will reduce and discourage mobile device theft threats by enabling individual operators to prevent the use of stolen registered handsets on their own networks.

“We have had one stakeholder meeting with mobile device dealers and importers but will have more interactions with all interested parties to fashion out the modalities for implementation of the Ghana CEIR which will become operational in 2020. Further updates on its establishment will be provided in due course.”