In a move aimed at protecting consumer interests, the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has published a number of draft regulations for mobile phone dealers. The regulations provide for 3 year jail term or Sh300,000 fine for dealers who import mobile phones with poor battery performance.
According to CA, the mobile phone’s battery should offer at least eight hours talk time and 24 hours of standby time.
“The regulations are geared at protecting consumer interests and promoting the quality of service provided by network operators,” CA acting director-general Mercy Wanjau told the Business Daily.
“In the event that non-compliant devices are submitted for type-approval, the Authority shall decline providing the requisite authorization for importation of such equipment into the Kenyan market.”
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Kenya has a high mobile phone penetration, with subscribers growing 4.9 percent in 2019 to 59.84 million last year. However, a number of people dealing in illegal trade have found a way of selling counterfeit goods in the markets. Records from the Anticounterfeit agency showed that at least one in five products sold in major towns is counterfeit. The agency’s records show that nearly 75 percent of Kenyans used counterfeit products in 2019, with mobile phones being the most counterfeited product.
Battery life is one of the most common issues dogging many a mobile phone user in the country. Smartphone manufacturers have highlighted features such as thinner bodies, brighter screens, faster processors, more background software, and speedier Internet connections as most likely to take a toll on smartphone batteries. On the same breath, they have also developed faster charging and more powerful batteries to counter consumption.
However, a number of unscrupulous dealers are taking advantage of such factors to develop mobile phones with sub-standard battery performance to the detriment of the user.
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“A mobile cellular device shall be fitted with a suitable and appropriate power supply cord and mains plug that meets the standards established by the regulatory body in charge of electricity in Kenya,” the draft Kenya Information and Communications (Importation, Type Approval And Distribution Of Communications Equipment) Regulations, 2010 says.
Consumer lobbies have welcomed CA’s crackdown on mobile phones with sub-standard batteries.
“Part of the challenge is that most of the batteries of such phones do not retain power for long,” said Stephen Mutoro, secretary-general of Consumers Federation of Kenya (Cofek).
“This is a nightmare to a majority of consumers who have to charge their phones for long, in the process spending more time on charging as well as not being able to move with their phones. CA needs to liaise with the Kenya Revenue Authority, the Kenya Bureau of Standards and the Kenya Ports Authority to block further flooding if the Kenyan market with fake phones and especially those with bad batteries.”
Read also: Anti-Counterfeit Authority Destroys Products Worth Sh27 Million In Athi River
Among the regulations is also the requirement for manufacturers to print a visible, legible brand or model on the handsets using indelible ink. CA also wants the manufacturers to develop phones that comply with global radiation standards to protect the health of consumers.
The last crackdown on mobile phones was done in 2012 when CA targeted mobile handsets that came without an authentic International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number which is a unique identifier for every handset.
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