No less than 1,492 different brands and models have been approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for use in the country.
The phones are said to be approved by the commission to ensure they are of quality standard and fit to be sold to consumers in Nigeria. Reports, however, show that many unapproved phone brands are being sold across the country.
The mobile market: With over 184.4 million mobile subscriptions as of December 2019, Nigeria remains a veritable market for mobile manufacturers across the world. According to NCC, Chinese mobile manufacturers are currently dominating the Nigerian mobile market.
Brands like Tecno, Huawei, and ZTE lead the pack of approved devices. New entrants into the market doing well currently are also Chinese phones. They include Oppo, Xiaomi, and Vivo. The phones have also been approved by the NCC.
However, while the aforementioned products are booming in the mobile market, unapproved phones are also selling massively due to their cheaper prices as they are mostly sub-standard or fake. Fairly used phones from the UK, US, and the likes are being sold as well in huge quantities for those that cannot afford to get a new product.
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While commenting on the rate at which unapproved phones are sold in the country, the Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, Prof Umar Danbatta urged consumers to desist from purchasing phones that have not been certified for the market by the NCC. He frowned at the influx of counterfeit devices into the country saying that efforts would be put into creating awareness by the NCC alongside other government agencies to address the problem.
Danbatta enjoined telecoms consumers to check the commission’s official website to find the list of type-approved phones from which they can make their choices of handsets to purchase.
“Cases of influx and patronage of counterfeit handsets are more rampant in developing countries, such as Nigeria, where importers bring in substandard phones without recourse to the regulatory type-approval process aimed at certifying such devices as fit for the market,” he noted.
He added that the NCC was saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that the equipment and devices sold and used in Nigeria comply with standards so as to enable the consumer enjoys his or her stake in the telecommunications industry.
“As such, all equipment manufacturers, vendors, and operators, including customers devices such as mobile phones and wireless adapters, must, therefore, ensure that their equipment conforms to the applicable standards as mandated by the Commission before bringing them into Nigeria.”
