The Fraud Management Technologies Implemented by Global Voice Group and SGS Enable the Tanzanian Authorities to Dismantle Major Clandestine Telephony Operations in Tanzania

Just over a year after its official inauguration in March 2014, the Telecommunications Traffic Monitoring System has already yielded convincing results in Tanzania with respect to revenue assurance, regulatory enforcement and fraud mitigation in the telecom sector. Earlier this year, the investigation that led to the arrest and prosecution of two individuals for alleged fraudulent use of communication networks provided another compelling demonstration of the efficiency of the TTMS as a fraud detection tool.

The accused unlawfully operated an international gateway to receive and transmit telecommunication traffic without a license issued by the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority, causing a loss amounting to more than TZS 4.3 billion to both the United Republic of Tanzania and the TCRA. The investigation started with the preliminary data provided by the fraud management component of the TCRA’s TTMS, which allowed the authorities to identify the fraudulent numbers used by the clandestine operators. From there on, the TCRA worked in cooperation with the operators and Law Enforcement to localize the fraudsters.

Thanks to the TTMS, other clandestine telephony operations of similar importance have been dismantled over the last year, putting an end to fraudulent operations that severely affected the local operators’ turnover and the State’s revenues, not to mention their adverse impact on the quality of service, due to the VoIP compression method used by the fraudsters.

The TTMS has been implemented by a consortium composed of Global Voice Group and SGS, under a Build-Operate-Transfer agreement with the TCRA. According to TCRA’s Director General, Dr. Ally Yahaya Simba: “The successful installation and implementation of the Telecommunication Traffic Monitoring System is not only a revolution but also one of the greatest achievements to the country’s communication Sector. There is no doubt that the installation of the TTMS has brought a new regulatory tool to the Authority. This will bring more professionalism and efficiency in the communication sector.”

The first phase of the project included telecom traffic monitoring and fraud management. The TCRA and its technical partners, SGS and GVG, are currently implementing the second phase, which will extend the capacities of the existing ICT infrastructure to mobile money monitoring, as well as equipment identification and registry.

As Dr. Simba pointed out:  “His Excellency President Dr Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete launched the facility on27th February 2014, commending TCRA for what he described as promising step towards building the Nation. Dr Kikwete appealed to other institutions in the country to uphold efficiency and be strategic in their execution of duties so as to bring about sustainable development of the country and contribute effectively to upgrade the living standards of Tanzanians.”