Telecom companies to switch-off fake phones from networks — SON

The Federal Government will soon order telecom
companies in the country to effect a nationwide switch-off of
over 12.6 million counterfeit phones from networks by using
the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number.
This was disclosed by Dr. Joseph Odumodu, Director General
Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON).
Speaking during an interactive forum with Phone Brand
Owners in Lagos, the SON boss pointed out that in 2013
alone, over N5 billion was spent in Nigeria on the
importation of substandard mobile phones, adding that as at
April this year, Nigeria currently has a GSM subscriber base
of 126,958,904; and 10 percent of these subscribers (12.6
million) use counterfeit phones.
He affirmed that the enforcement will boost consumer
rights protection, increased revenue for the government via
taxes; increase revenue for the genuine mobile phone
manufacturers as well as improved GSM networks in the
country.
According to him, SON is working out the plan with
Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, and Consumer
Protection Council; the phone operators, and “Soon
government shall announce the directive to switch the fake
phones off the networks.”
“As more countries switch-off counterfeit phones, the people
behind this scourge will keep moving to countries that are yet
to adopt this solution, hence the urgent need to address the
situation,” he said.
He enjoined all brand owners to monitor and protect their
products from the factories (manufacturers) until they get to
the end-users.
“Brand owners have to inscribe coded identification marks
on original phones to ensure traceability and proper user’s
guide,” he said.
Umego Adaora, CPC Scientific Officer Lagos Zonal Office, also
urged the brand owners to look beyond making money by
considering the negative effects substandard phones have on
the economy, the environment and the consumer.
Some of the brand owners reacted to the development:
Comfort Ebere, whose company is Nokia mobile sole
representative in Nigeria, noted, ‘There is a phone I saw
recently; Nokia as a brand name and they wrote L300 but
Nokia doesn’t produce L300. I also saw Nokia L800 and I
asked where are these phones coming from? I was taken a
backed and I went to the office and spoke with my people to
know what is really happening in the markets. When we see
a real Nokia phones from us we know. If we key in the code
and it doesn’t bring up the features we tell the customer, this
is not from us.”
Sunday Mbiam, who represented LG Electronics, said, “I
must confess that it has been very frustrating. You have good
phones in the market but getting complaints from consumer
that most of the products they found in the markets are
faked. They must have bought it from roadsides and not from
the main dealers. We have a good warranty in places such
that in case of defaults take your phone to any of our centre
for replacement. And we want to encourage Nigerians to
patronise our dealers and not road-side phone vendors.”