The massive usage of fake mobile phones by the bulk of the country’s 130 million active telecommunications subscribers, is causing a major drain on mobile networks, reducing reception, network speeds and contributing to the already deteriorating Quality of Service (QoS) levels in Nigeria.
Industry observers told BusinessDay, yesterday, that these fake mobile devices flowing freely into the country amidst the litany of security and enforcement agencies at the nation’s borders, are not registered or certified to operate on cellular networks. According to them, these mobile devices are produced from cheap, sub-standard components, which can severly damage service quality in a network area.
“Low quality of mobile devices used by subscribers can tamper with QoS so we need to fight against counterfeit phones in Nigeria as N730 billion is lost annually due to poor QoS”, said Lanre Ajayi, national president, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON).
Rising incidences of dropped calls, and incohorent transmission experienced by telecoms subscribers have also been linked to fake phones. Commenting on the reason why patronage of fake phone increases inspite of the impact on the economy, James Obiora, a mobile phone reseller at the Ikeja Computer Village, is of the view that Nigerians patronise fake, substandard phone market mainly because of pricing and affordability.
“A fake phone goes for less than 20 percent of the price of the original make of the phone”, he said. Wale Goodluck, corporate service executive, MTN, blamed slow browsing speeds experienced by some subscribers using mobile data services on counterfeit mobile devices. “As an industry, we need to urgently address the issue of affordability of 3G smartphones. “If manufacturers make these smartphones more affordable, more Nigeria can use them instead of fake devices”, he said at the 76th edition of the repackaged Telecoms Consumer Parliament (TCP) in Lagos.
According to industry observers, non-genuine mobile phones often use inferior antennas, which are inefficient, and as a result reduce reception quality. They added that testings have shown that counterfeit and substandard phones experience high levels of dropped
calls and failed connections, and because of their cheap antennas, counterfeit and sub-standard mobile devices are not usable in many areas where a genuine phone would be able to make and receive calls.
“Fake phones create dark spots on the network that could only be fixed by creating 80 more Base Transceiver Stations (BTS)”, said a telecoms engineer, who pleaded anonymity.
Ajayi advised that any mobile device that is not type-approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) should not be used on any of the networks.
The ATCON boss urged the telecoms regulator to find a way to ensure that such devices, including smartphones, and tablets are not allowed to work on any network in the country.
