Fake phones cost more

Think again when you buy a cell phone at a too-good-to-be-true price: it is more likely an imitation of the quality brand you know, and could cost you more money and your health in the long-run, says Fred Asare, a telecoms consultant and former worker of phone-maker Ericsson.

“The phones that are so cheap; do you think the manufacturers use the right kind of materials that the genuine ones are using? They would definitely use sub-standard materials. So it is a risky thing.

 Even though research has not proven beyond doubt yet, there is a high probability that if the emissions are too high they could cause health problems,” said Fred Asare at a forum in Accra on the impact of fake phones on users and the telecoms industry.

Fake phones, batteries and chargers are said to be made from cheap sub-standard components and may contain dangerous chemicals and metals, such as lead and mercury, which are dangerous to the environment and human health.

The cheap and low-quality components used to manufacture fake phones and accessories are untested, uncertified and can be a safety hazard for users. 

“There is a standard on radio frequency emission; there is even a rating of all the manufacturers and the kinds of phones and their emission levels. There are ISO standards and they go through these tests. Fake phones are not tested and their emission levels could be dangerously high,” said Mr. Asare. 

The effects of fake phones are not limited to the user; telecom network providers also suffer image problems, he said. Fake phones are a drain on mobile phone networks, reducing network speed and reception for users. And when that happens, users tend to blame it on network operators. 

According to a 2010 research conducted in Brazil, fake phones have a 26% higher rate in failed call attempts, 24% of call-drops, and transmission power in fake phones was discovered to be 20 times lower. 

The influx of fake phones in the country is also said to result in tax losses running into millions of US dollars. In December 2011, Nokia’s General Manager, Sales, for Ghana and Senegal, Ludovic Falcuo, said in Accra that because the handsets are fake, they do not go through the approved channels of importation -- making the country lose money.

“They are imported to Ghana illegally without import duties or VAT paid. This creates a tax loss of between US$18 million and US$20 million per annum for the Ghanaian government,” he said. 

Several countries around the world are getting tougher on the use of counterfeit phones. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of the United Arab Emirates, in January 2012, joined hands with UAE telecoms to disconnect service to duplicate handsets. 

The topic has equally gained currency in the East African region, with Kenya leading the way in disconnecting fake handsets.  

Figures issued by mobile phone operators in that country indicate that by September 2012, a total of 754,269 had been switched off by Safaricom; 588,831 by Airtel Kenya; 72,000 by Orange; and 470,000 by Yu Mobile.

This has however come with rising criticism as the crackdown is said to have prevented a lot of people, mostly low-income people, from using phones. 

Curbing the use of fake phones has been a dilemma for governments of developing countries, where low-income phone users are in the majority of their populations. For these people, cost is the number-one determinant in their phone-buying decisions. 

Fred Asare believes, therefore, that Ghana must tread cautiously and embark more on educating members of the public about the impact of fake phones on their lives. Although there are no studies in that regard, the majority of Ghanaians rely on relatively cheap ‘China’ phones -- the country where Fred Asare says the majority of the fake phones originate. 

“It is a serious thing but we believe it is a matter of education. We need to educate people. People usually buy ignorantly without knowing the phone is fake.”

Source: B&FT