DUBAI: An announcement setting a 40-day grace period for users to dispose of fake phones has kicked up a cloud of confusion among consumers and electronics retailers, XPRESS has learnt.
In announcing that fake phones will be barred from accessing telecommunications services by January 1, 2012, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) also stated that genuine phones imported into the UAE for sale must now either carry a TRA stamp, serial number and approval number — or have a TRA label inside the device.
This has got customers worried, especially those who bought handsets from outside. "What about my phone, which is genuine, though I bought it in India?" said an executive. "What happens to my unlocked iPhone which I bought in the [United] States?" asked a Western expatriate.
An electronics retailer also raised concerns over the type-approval or TRA stamping on all telecom equipment sold, a little-known rule required by UAE law which the telecom watchdog said they will start implementing.
TRA Certification
Ashish Punjabi, Chief Operating Officer of Dubai-based electronics retailer Jacky's, said: "There may also be a concern … because any mobile handset that is sold in the country has to be certified by TRA before use in the country. They [customers] may have a concern that many such handsets don't have this certification and also if IMEI numbers are missing or invalid, they may not be tracked properly by network operators."
International Mobile Equipment Identification (IMEI) are seen as key to securing mobile money transactions and in tracking stolen phones.
While many countries still tolerate the use of knock-off mobile phones, more governments - from Abu Dhabi and Nairobi to Beijing - are putting regulatory fixes to drive fake handset manufacturers out of business.
Grey market phones are defined as those having either copycat, tampered or reprogrammed IMEI numbers. The GSM Association (GSMA), which groups the world's leading phone manufacturers, assigns dedicated IMEIs to each unit produced by members. Fake phone makers either tamper with their products or simply copy non-GSMA registered IMEI numbers across a number of phones.
Checking whether a phone is fake or genuine is not rocket science, said Abdullah Hassayen, chairman of the Dubai-based Brand Protection Group (DPG) and Anti-Counterfeiting Manager for Nokia Middle East. "A fake phone is one whose IMEI is unregistered with the GSMA," said Hassayen. "Many, if not all, phones you find in DragonMart are fake ones."
Many of the sub-Dh200 Blackberry, iPhone, "Porsche" "Ferrari" and Nokia look-alikes display two or three IMEIs. Punjabi said, however: "These may still be fake, if the IMEI numbers are invalid."
"If the same serial number is copied onto multiple handsets, these may be flagged in the telecom operator systems as a fake."
In addition to DragonMart, Naif and Rolla in Sharjah are known lairs of vendors of knockoff phones.
Punjabi, however, said items sold by parallel importers — traders who sell fast-selling genuine electronics usually at a lower price than the established dealership networks — are not fake.
Ganem: Unlocked phones are safe
People who use mobile phones bought from outside the country should not worry about the services being cut by January 1, 2012 if their handsets are genuine, the UAE's top regulator said.
Mohammad Al Ganem, Director-General of the UAE's Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA), has allayed fears of users of "unlocked" phones or those who bought their kits from parallel importers.
"If the phone is genuine, it will work here. If it's a fake, then it won't work," he told XPRESS on Wednesday.
He explained how they are able to check whether a phone's ID number — called the IMEI — is genuine or not. "It's very easy to determine. Those IMEIs are not ours. They belong to the GSMA [GSM Association]. But we're able to take their database to see who's using what."
He said the crackdown is the best way to deal with the health effects of fake phones on end-users. "We've had cases of fake phones exploding right here in the UAE. Thank God no one was injured," he said, without elaborating.
Cheap phones without warranties may display several IMEI numbers, he said, but this does not mean they are genuine. "Those are probably fake numbers."
IMEI importance
- IMEI numbers are important in tracking stolen handsets
- It helps recover stolen phones with the aid of a special tracking equipment
- IMEIs are one of the key elements in securing mobile money transactions
How to check IMEI
1 IMEI can be obtained by keying in *#06# on your handset
2 Send the 15-digit IMEI to 8877; you will get an SMS stating whether your unit is "fake" or "genuine"
A matter of fake
2008 - Abu Dhabi authorities seize more than 3,000 fake mobile phone handsets and accessories from 50 shops in the capital.
2010 - A raid on DragonMart has yielded 2,500 fake items from the popular market; Dubai's Department of Economic Development imposed Dh100,000 in fines on 113 stores.
8877 - the number to which you need to send the IMIE
