Nairobi, Kenya:
The Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) has advised phone users on how to verify whether the handsets they wish to buy are genuine, following a recent notice from CCK to switch off over 3 million counterfeit mobile phones in the country after Sept. 30.
The CCK Director-General Francis Wangusi urged phone users and buyers consumers to send the IMEI of the handset via SMS to 1555.
“The response received from this system which has been set up in liaison with device manufacturers should be the only fool-proof yardstick for determining whether the handset is genuine or not,” Wangusi said.
“Members of the public are also advised to purchase mobile phones from vendors who are duly licensed by CCK and should demand to see the CCK type approval certificate of the model of the handset they wish to buy,” he said.
The CCK is currently running a public awareness campaign on the exercise announced that it will cut off an estimated 3 million mobile phones from the four service providers in the East African nation on Sept. 30. The industry regulator noted that counterfeit handsets are hazardous and pose risks to Kenyans.
The risks include emission of radiations that could affect health of users since the manufacturers of the mobile phones allegedly do not follow safety standard while making them. And the traders are bracing for tough times in the coming months as they hold on to their stock, which mainly comprises of low-cost mobile phones.
Many of them are already counting losses as people shun buying mobile phones from them for fear that they will not use them once the switch-off is implemented. However, the director-general condemned a misconception in the mobile phone market that all handsets manufactured in China or by Chinese firms are counterfeit, which has sparked fears among Kenyans owning devices made in China, once after the CCK’s switch- off notice was released.
China has globally recognized companies whose products and solutions are being used worldwide by top operators, and which meet CCK requirements in respect to quality and type approval, said Wangusi in a statement released on Wednesday. Chinese telecom firm Huawei has also confirmed the originality of their handsets.
“Huawei has created a competitive edge by introducing original devices that ensure quality user experience at affordable costs for Kenyans at all levels, as a result of our heavy investment in customer centric research and development (R&D),” Wind Li, Huawei Kenya Representative Office CEO said in a statement. “
As a global ICT leader serving 45 out of the top 50 global operators and a third of the world’s population, Huawei adheres to the laws and regulations of the countries we operate in while meeting all the product requirements,” he added.
Huawei has also partnered with Kenyan operators such as Safaricom to bring smartphones in the market.
“Safaricom has had a long standing relationship with Huawei whose technology ranks among the best in the world. The IDEOS was one of our first affordable smartphones and the fact that it became one of our best selling phones in the past year is testament to its quality and reliability in the Kenyan market,” Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore. (Xinhua)
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