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The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has held its first Industry Type Approval Working Group Meeting this week in Lagos in line with its mandate of providing quality telecom services and protecting telecom consumers.
By law, Type Approval is mandatory for all telecom equipment and devices in use in Nigeria. The Type Approval Working Group meeting was setup by the commission to bring together various stakeholders in the industry to discuss the importance of Type Approval on all telecom equipment and the consequences of non-compliance.
The NCC’s Executive Commissioner Technical Services, Mr. Ubale Maska was represented by the NCC’s Head of Technical Standards and Network Integrity, Mr. Bako Wakil at the Lagos meeting.
Wakil delivered a presentation on the “Impact of Counterfeit/Substandard Mobile devices”, where he explained the numerous negative effects of such devices which not only degrade the quality of a network, but also have negative socio-economic impacts.
Despite the law on type approval, the ICT market has been under siege of fake or counterfeit telecom products. But the NCC has remained unrelenting in raising awareness on the need for Type Approval and imposing sanctions on erring companies.
According to Wakil, using non type approved devices has consequences. They include reduced foreign direct investment, threat to green environment, risk to health, and vulnerability in online transactions, negative economic impacts on right holders, increased cyber threats, privacy risks, and degrading the quality of network services.
Also speaking at the event, Mr. Chukwuma Nwaiwu, NCC’s Head of Wireless Network Unit, took audience through the NCC’s Type Approval review process and timeline for getting equipment approved. Information on NCC’s Type Approval process can be accessed at: www.goo.gl/SepXvr
