Tanzania's telecoms regulator has disconnected over 600,000
mobile phones from mobile networks in an effort to stamp out counterfeit
devices that it says are often used for fraudulent transactions on mobile
payment systems and in other crimes.
Poorly made counterfeit phones, imported mainly from Asia,
are prevalent in many African nations and regulators say they are widely used
by criminals because they are difficult to track.
The Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority's (TCRA)
communications manager, Innocent Mungy, said that all devices with invalid
International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers were disconnected on
Thursday. IMEI numbers are most commonly used to deny network access when
phones have been reported as stolen.
The watchdog had announced the move in February and launched
a campaign to encourage people to switch to non-counterfeit devices, but
Thursday's big switch-off came as a shock to many who rely on their handsets to
transact business and stay in touch, while mobile operator Vodacom said the
reduced telephone and data traffic would hit revenue.
"I woke up to check my phone only to see an indication
of 'no service' and I realised my phone was blocked," said Amina Juma, a
street food vendor in Dar es Salaam, adding that she will find it tough to
raise funds to buy a new handset.
Vodacom head of communications Rosalynn Mworia said that the
company would suffer financially from the shutdown but that it was too early to
quantify the losses.
The company has embarked on a campaign to sell low-priced
phones nationwide as a way of mitigating the loss, Mworia said.
Source: Reuters
No comments:
Post a Comment