NCC rechecks Nokia 2115 type approval

•Warns on promos

FOLLOWING avalanche of complaints from telecom consumers at the March edition of the Telecom Consumers Parliament, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has directed its technical division to recheck the type approval of Nokia 2115 mobile phone, being sold in the country.

This is to ensure that it was the correct type approved for the nation’s telecom market that is being used.

This development came as NCC also warned telecom operators over ‘difficult to decipher’ promotions, saying that it would not take it lightly with any operators indulging in such activity.

Chief Executive, NCC, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, gave these directives at the 28th session of the monthly parliament, held at Oyinbo, a suburb of Lagos State.

He said that following complaints from parliamentarians at the session, that NCC has to recheck the Nokia 2115 mobile phone’s type approval first before further investigation or action could be taken.

Complaints were rift that centered on the model’s temperature increasing tremendously even if a call of less than five minutes is made with Nokia 2115 phone.

He assured that if the model is discovered to have problems, it would be withdrawn immediately.

However, investigations by correspondent on Nokia 2115 currently sold in the country, showed that there are two types of Nokia 2115 Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) wireless phones in the nation’s market.

The two types were manufactured in two separate countries, namely China and Mexico.

The difference, according to investigations is that the Nokia 2115 manufactured in China do not have Internet enabled facility, while the same product purportedly made Mexico, have and seems more updated, yet they are both sold at the same market place with collusion of mainly CDMA operators.

Equally based on inundated complaints on some promotions, especially that of MTN Nigeria and Glo mobile, precisely on ‘bonus on next recharge’, EVC had directed that any promotion that is difficult to understand by consumers, should be stopped immediately.

Pointing out that if officials of a telecom operator could find it difficult to interpret or explain intrigues in a promo by their company, how much more a lay man.

He reminded telecom consumers that their first place of call for complaints is their respective operators’ help desk.

Underlining that it is only when this effort fails that consumers are encouraged to proceed to complain to NCC through its Consumer Affairs Bureau (CAB).

“Which would take prompt steps to ensure that the complaints are resolved and consumers satisfied,” he said.