The number of phones approved for sale in the country by the Nigerian Communications Commission increased to 1,985 as of April 2023.Checks showed that 24 new phone models were approved in the latest update from NCC between January and now. As of January, the figure was 1,961 before hitting 1,985 in April.The number of phones approved for sale in the country by the Nigerian Communications Commission increased to 1,985 as of April 2023.
Some of these phone brands include Tecno Mobile, Nokia, Wiko, Samsung, Panasonic, Huawei, Asus, Apple, HP, Google, Gionee, Alcatel, Oppo among others. The NCC is empowered by the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 to establish and enforce standards for all telecommunications equipment in operation in Nigeria to ensure that they operate seamlessly and safely within the Nigerian telecommunications environment. However, despite the regulatory efforts, thousands of unapproved phone brands are still being sold across the country.
Danbatta, who frowned at the proliferation of counterfeit handsets in the country, said: “The menace of counterfeit and substandard handsets has assumed a global dimension and requires a lot of education on the part of the consumers and collaboration with other government agencies to address it. A Senior Research Analyst at IDC, Arnold Ponela, said: “The mobile phone industry is now challenged by constrained demand even though the supply constraints that had previously been weighing on the market have started to ease off,”