UCC to switch off fake phones by July 1, 2013

By Julius Odeke

Uganda Communications Commission has changed its earlier programme of switching off fake phone handsets to next year from the initial set date of November 2.

The UCC’s Director, Technology and Licensing, Patrick Mwesigwa told MPs on the Information and Communications Technology committee yesterday that, “We want to sensitize people about the features of fake phones so that the public and businessmen importing phones know exactly what they are buying or importing.”

When implemented, the policy directive will see Uganda join Kenya which switched off more than 1 million fake mobile handsets early this month.

In a related development, MPs heard that UCC is set to gazette new stringent quality of service benchmarks for telecommunication companies tomorrow, as it seeks to address complaints of plummeting quality of services. The parameters which will see licenses of repeat offenders revoked will provide for financial penalties for blocked calls, loss of network coverage and dropped calls.