Why Nigerians should verify phones before purchase — NCC

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has urged Nigerians to verify the authenticity of their mobile phones before purchasing them. This recommendation was made by the commission's Director of Technical Standards and Network Integrity, Edoyemi Ogoh, in an interview with Arise TV. Ogoh emphasized that the initiative aimed to protect consumers from buying counterfeit devices and to improve network quality.

According to Ogoh, the Nigerian Communications Commission Act 2003 mandates the commission to conduct type approval to ensure that all devices entering the country are genuine and function as intended. He explained that this measure would also prevent consumers from purchasing imitation devices at prices intended for genuine products.

"One, it’s a statutory requirement. The NCC Act of 2003 actually specifies that we carry out type approval, and that’s the whole intent of that is to ensure that every device coming into the country is actually genuine and works the way it should work," Ogoh stated.

Further investigation by the commission revealed that some service quality complaints were linked to the devices consumers used. This finding reinforced the need to ensure that all phones and other devices connected to telecommunications networks met the required standards. Ogoh emphasized that using unapproved devices could negatively impact not only the users but also other people in the same telecommunications environment.

"When consumers utilise devices that are not type-approved, or that are operating in a way that should not operate, it does not just impact them, it also impacts others that are within the same environments that they are using those services," he added.

The NCC advises consumers to check the approval status of their phones before making a purchase to ensure they comply with the commission's standards for use on Nigerian telecommunications networks. This initiative is part of the commission's broader efforts to regulate devices connected to mobile networks, with about 231 million devices already registered. The commission has also provided guidance on how to verify a phone's approval status as part of its ongoing consumer protection efforts.