Ghana is the first country in West Africa to have implemented the policy of number portability in the telecom sector. This was disclosed by the Minister of Communications Haruna Iddrisu at a Meet the Press Series in Accra, Monday. The policy which makes it possible for a subscriber to easily switch from one service provider to another- depending on the quality of service or the lack of it- was successfully launched in this year. A total of 70,000 subscribers have taken advantage of the policy and have ported from one provider to another, the minister revealed. He noted the policy will in no small way stimulate stiff competition between the service providers and ensure quality service to mobile phone users. "I am waiting for a time when one service provider will announce free talk time during the week-end," he stated. On the on-going Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) registration Haruna Iddrisu said a total of 85 per cent of subscribers have been registered thus far. That he said is a good, reasonable feat to have been chalked by the National Communications Authority despite the initial challenges and protestations that came with it. He said the registration was to take care of the increasing spate of mobile phone snatching and other fraudulent activities, including death threats, which users were subjected to from time to time. Haruna Iddrisu said Ghanaians must appreciate the need to mitigate crime perpetrated through the use of mobile phone by connecting numbers to identities. He cautioned the NCA as well as the service providers not to allow any unregistered SIM into the market which he said will defeat the purpose of the policy. Mr. Iddrisu further announced a decentralization of the operations of the NCA. According to him, offices of the NCA will be established at all ten regional capitals in the country to address the needs of all the regions.