Prof. Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive (EVC/CE) of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has said using non-type approved handsets and other devices has implications for quality of telecom services and that explains why the Commission carries out type approval tests on communication equipment and issues certificates based on the technical specifications and standards prescribed by the Commission.
He described Type approval as "an administrative procedure of technical tests and vetting applied to items of telecoms equipment before they can be sold, connected to the public network or used for the purpose of communication".
Danbatta spoke recently at a sensitisation forum on "Hazardous Effects of Non-Type Approved Handsets/Equipment on Quality of Service and E-Waste” organised in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State by the Port Harcourt Zonal Office of the Commission. Danbatta was represented by Venny Eze-Nwabufoh, Controller of the Commission's Port Harcourt Zonal Office, which purview includes Akwa Ibom State.
Danbatta told the participants made up of representatives of key players in the telecom industry including mobile phone dealers and importers as well as relevant government agencies, that the NCC as the national regulatory authority for telecommunication in Nigeria is empowered by the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 to provide enabling environment for competition amongst industry players.
"Consistent with that mandate, the Commission has shown relentless commitment towards the provision of qualitative and efficient telecommunication services in Nigeria and always ready to engage all stakeholders in addressing any challenge in the sector", Danbatta affirmed and added that the objective of the sensitization is to ensure that stakeholders comply with the requirement of the law; identify fake and sub-standard products; enhance Quality of Service (QoS) delivery and Quality of Experience (QoE) to consumers; establish and enforce standards; and ensure that equipment operate seamlessly and safely within the Nigerian telecommunications environment.
The EVC also informed the participants that the Commission in collaboration with the Office of National Security Adviser (ONSA) and other key government agencies has set up two joint committees - Project Steering Committee (PSC) and the Project Delivery Team (PDT) - to combat the recurrent cycle of fraudster deploying their trade via fake and substandard mobile devices. Danbatta declared that these committees are to ensure the implementation of the Mobile Device Management System (MDMS), a Public-Private Partnership project to combat the proliferation of counterfeit, substandard and cloned mobile communication devices in telecommunication industry through proper monitoring of our borders and the market.
The NCC Chief Executive therefore urged vendors of communication equipment and devices to ensure that the devices sold to the public are type approved by the Commission.