Plan to switch off fake mobile phones shelved until April

The Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) said it is installing a new gadget known as the International Mobile Subscriber Identifier (IMSI) to enable it track handsets from smaller manufacturers such Tecno and Miphone.

As a result, the regulator has postponed switching off fake handsets from December 31 as ordered by President Kibaki. It said the phoness will be switched of in April next year.

Also read: Lawyers question CCK step to switch off fake cellphones

Acting CCK director-general Francis Wangusi said the current registration system, known as International Mobile Equipment Identifier (IMEI), can only identify genuine phones from big manufacturers such as Nokia, Samsung, and Erickson.

“The technology and equipment that we have cannot fully combat counterfeit handsets and a consensus has been reached to push the switch off deadline to April to give us time to put in place all the logistics required,” said Mr Wangusi.

The regulator is acquiring the technology from the Global System of Mobile Association (GSMA), an association of nearly 800 mobile operators.

Globally, all mobile phones are assigned a unique 15 digit IMEI code upon production, which is the backbone of genuine handsets.

In Kenya, all mobile phone vendors are expected to register their handset models with the regulator. However, this has seen only big market players comply, while a significant number of traders operate without the due process.

Major handset manufacturers selling in Kenya include Nokia, Samsung, LG, Sony, and Ericsson. Mobile operators say genuine phones register both the IMEI code along with a caller’s number on their systems while fake gadgets record only the caller’s details, making it easy to clamp down on counterfeits.

Risk of switch off

But phones made by small handset manufacturers do not register on the operator’s systems, raising the risk of switching off holders of genuine phones.

“As things are now, there is a risk of switching off subscribers with genuine handsets but whose information is not available on our data base and this is where the GSMA comes in as it will provide all the data base of all handsets manufacturers across the globe,” said Safaricom director corporate affairs Mr Nzioka Waita.

The move is a reprieve to the more than 2.3 million mobile subscribers currently using fake handsets who have to shop for new phones to avoid being switched off.
It is also a boon to the four telcos-Safaricom, Airtel, Yu and Orange who objected to the move arguing that they stand to lose revenues in a business environment where ongoing price wars have cut profits.

The Anti-Counterfeit Agency (ACA) has raised concern that Kenya loses nearly Sh3.2 billion annually through tax evasion and sale of counterfeit phones, a trade that is emerging as a money minting machine in downtown Nairobi and across major towns.

The lower prices of fake handsets, about a third of the cost of genuine ones, has made them popular among consumers facing strained purchasing power. The cancelled directive was expected to shake up the handset retail market that has grown fast in Kenya’s urban centres as dealers move to boost their working capital to abide by the new dispensation.

Operators of mobile phone shops were also bracing for lower sales as consumers were expected to adjust slowly to the costlier original handsets.

While the government has not shown commitment to combating the fake mobile phone menace, China continues to be the leading exporter of the same to Kenya.

This has resulted in an indictment of the Kenya Revenue Authority customs officials under whose charge the fakes stream into the market.

Kenneth Oyolla, Nokia, East and Southern Africa general manager, said the need to push the deadline to April was also motivated by the fact that the government has not yet put in place necessary regulations to enable the mobile operators to switch off subscribers.

“Other than lack of latest technology, there is also the issues of regulation”.
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