Three major telcos, Safaricom, Airtel Kenya and Telkom Kenya will block stolen and fake phones in a new regime the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has proposed in a bid to tame rampant phone thefts.
The communications regulator also wants to put a stop to importation and sale of cheap counterfeit devices that have flooded the market in recent years due to their affordability.
The CA says increased demand for ICT services with more user features has forced some customers to look for cheap devices with more capabilities, which has led to proliferation of fakes.
“However, some populations are not able to afford ICT devices that satisfy their needs, thus creating a gap in the market. This has led to some illegitimate manufacturers developing counterfeit mobile devices and proliferation of stolen devices in the market,” CA says.
It adds that counterfeit and illegal mobile devices cause interference within the telecommunications networks and directly impact on the quality of service and coverage by requiring operators to incur additional costs to deploy more base stations.
It has called for public comments on the Guidelines for Addressing Counterfeit, Stolen and Illegal ICT Devices in Kenya that will see the regulator set up a system where Kenyans will register their stolen or lost phones.
Individuals, mobile network operators (MNOs), licensees, Kenya Revenue Authority, security agencies, Kenya Bureau of Standards and other stakeholders will access the system.
“Consumers will report stolen/ lost devices to law enforcement agencies. The consumer may also report the same through a platform provided by the authority. The system shall be used to store information of lost and stolen devices and shall contain the unique identifier of the stolen/lost devices and the date of the incident,” the regulator says.
CA will then use the system to generate a blacklist of phones that have been reported stolen, lost or those that have invalid international mobile equipment identity (Imei) numbers.
“The guidelines aim to ensure protection of consumers and industry from the impact of counterfeit, stolen and illegal ICT devices in the market,” CA says.
All mobile phone importers will also be required to register the 15-digit Imei number of all phones they import into the system and only import phones that have been approved by CA.
“The MNOs shall reference the System and deny access to their communication networks any Imei that is blacklisted under the direction of the Authority upon notification of the consumer,” the regulator says.
