By Osagie Ogunbor
The sudden influx of fake mobile phones is a serious concern for the much-known global brands like Nokia. Since deregulation of the telecommunications sector in Nigeria in 2000, there has been a phenomenal rise in mobile users thereby increasing the demand of various types of mobiles.

lMr. Phillip De-La-Vega, GM, Nokia West Africa

More customers are opting for fake or counterfeit mobiles (mostly from China) because they are cheap and look exactly like their original counterparts. Consumer behavior with respect to price is the same the world over. The cheaper the price, the higher the demand. Man is man everywhere. We want everything for nothing if possible.

The rather high prevalence of poverty in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and parts of Asia have also not helped matters as the counterfeit phones now flood these markets mercilessly, taking advantage of the people’s low purchasing power.

Manufacturers of counterfeit phones understand consumer behavior very well and exploit it bountifully. They are not under any illusion about the substandard quality of their devices and therefore have wisely elected to use price as a competitive masterstroke.

China is one of the main sources of fake phones in the Nigerian market. Hundreds of Chinese companies are churning out new ‘models’ of mobile phones day in and day out, which are in turn flooding the market. With the help of modern technology, even very small companies with as little as ten employees are creating new models of fake phones. In China, these are locally known as “shanzai” or black market cell phones. ‘Shanzai’ is a local term used to mean copied of faked products. The literal translation of ‘Shanzai’ is the ‘mountain village’, which means small factories producing low quality goods in South China.
From southern China, those headed for Nigeria mostly berth at Saka Tinubu Street in otherwise highbrow Victoria Island, and the Computer Village in Ikeja, Lagos.

These markets are in city centres and transactions are undisguised. The relationship between the buyers and sellers is far from being mutually beneficial. While the sellers are smiling home to the banks, the buyers, most of them unsuspecting, sooner than later realize that they have only been clever by half. The cheap phones pack up, no warranty, can’t be fixed and money gone. There is no free lunch anywhere, afterall.

Who benefits from these fake phones in Nigeria? The Chinese fakers and their collaborators in the country. The phones are low in quality and do not necessarily follow the safety standards. Most times, the radiations from these phones are beyond the permissible limits and can cause serious damage to the health of the consumer. The Shanzhai phones do not pay any taxes of regulatory fee resulting in revenue losses to governments across the world wherever they are sold.

Even the Chinese government is in a fix now as the exports benefits given out to these handsets are over claimed. Moreover, since the Shanzhai phones do not have IMEI numbers, there is an increased threat from terrorists as it is very difficult to catch a terrorist who uses a mobile handset without IMEI code.

Many consumers are unaware of the potential hazards that these fake phones cause. Essentially, there are two blocks of consumers – the rather naïve ones who may desire genuine phones rather than counterfeits but not knowledgeable enough to spot the difference and those who can easily recognize these fake phones but literally want to eat their cake and have it. Either of these consumers end up with the short end of the stick, licking their wounds in regret.

The best way to ensure that your Nokia phone is a genuine product is to buy only from authorized Nokia dealers and to always check if your phone has a valid International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number, providing you with a 12-month warranty. Genuine IMEI number guarantees the quality of the phone and its low radiation emission.

Many countries are beginning to rise up to the challenge of combating the menace of these counterfeit phones by limiting their influx into their respective countries.

In India there is an outright ban on the importation of mobile phones without IMEI codes. Countries like UK, USA and Australia are devising ways to de-link counterfeit phones from connecting to their existing mobile networks.

In Nigeria the Standards Organization of Nigeria, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria and the Ministry of Communications need to move beyond rhetoric and tackle this menace head-on. lOsagie Ogunbor is Communications Manager, Nokia West Africa.