The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has appealed to Nigerians to verify their desired mobile devices to ascertain if they are type-approved before purchase.
The NCC said they could make this confirmation on the commission’s website before payment for a transactions can be made. This was disclosed by the commission in a conversation with NCC’s director of technical standard and network integrity, Engr. Bako Wakil.
According to Wakil, the type approval process is to ensure, checkmate and reduce the importation and usage of sub-standard telecommunications devices in Nigeria. He noted that the verification was not limited to handsets alone but expanded to tablets, laptops and other devices.
Wakil stressed that, if substandard mobile devices were not checkmated in the Nigerian telecom industry, they could wreak a lot of havoc in the sector and consumers at large.
One of the major challenges, according to him, was the issue of radiation. Substandard handsets could radiate beyond the specified/ required percentage, thereby causing harm to the user.
In addition, Wakil said sub-standard mobile devices cause noise and interferences in the network.
“Oftentimes, telecom consumers complain of poor network services, while, unknown to them, it is the quality of their mobile devices that is the cause of the problem. This is the reason the commission is appealing to every consumer to check the NCC website before purchasing any model of their desired devices.
“We have model number list of the type-approved mobile devices either mobile phones, tablets, or laptops, or any devices that will be connected to the national network.”
Wakil explained that this would ensure the stipulated standard in the production of mobile devices.
He added that the state of the country was one major factor responsible for the influx of fake and substandard devices: “These devices are in high demand because they appear to be cheaper, thereby encouraging sales and more patronage from unsuspecting telecom consumers.”
The NCC implored users to discontinue these actions because of the damage the devices cause to health and the telecommunications network.
