UCC is not yet done fulfilling what it’s mandated to do under section 5 of The Uganda Communications Act 2013. This includes setting national standards and ensuring compliance with national and international standards and obligations laid down by international communication agreements and treaties to which Uganda is a party. Also, to safeguard the interests of consumers and operators as regards the quality of communications services and equipment.
UCC therefore conducts Type Approval of telecommunications and radio communication equipment, customer devices and network apparatus to make sure that they conform to the specified requirements or standards for their use in Uganda as set out by UCC. The equipment that have to be Type Approved include all mobile handsets and any other devices used to deliver or receive telecommunications or radio communication services.
Importers and sellers of communications equipment in Uganda hence have a responsibility to first obtain Type Approval from UCC to ascertain whether the equipment in question meets the standards set by the commission. Most of the individuals dealing in communication equipment have reluctantly given a deaf ear to the call from the commission and it has come to UCC’s concern as the commission pointed out in part of a public notice it released yesterday.
“It has come to the attention of the Commission that a number of mobile handset distributors in the country have continued to import, sell, distribute and retail mobile phone handsets and other communications devices without first obtaining Type Approved for such devices from the Commission and many of which do not conform to the prescribed standards.”
UCC declared the importation and sale of any communications device (this includes mobile handsets) that has not been Type Approved by the commission illegal and forbidden. All participants in this are contravening the law and have been duly warned.
Previously, UCC stated that it will switch off all “fake” phones from accessing the network anywhere in the country. Looks like there is more to that now as UCC confirms that any non-Type Approved devices imported into the country shall also be denied access to the telecommunications platforms and shall therefore not be able to work or be used in Uganda.
You may have run the test on the UCC portal and confirmed that you have an original phone with authentic serial numbers (We recently gave you a breakdown on how to do this), but your device needs to have been Type Approved too by the commission before it was sold to you by the vendors to avoid disconnection. This is because any non-Type Approved devices will be disconnected too. UCC has advised the public to always insist that a seller shows evidence of Type Approval before buying any handsets with immediate effect to prevent losses.
Mobile phone vendors and other parties that sell communication equipment are therefore mandated to seek Type Approval from the commission for all the communications equipment for mobile phones and other equipment without further ado.
Coming up on the commission’s to-do list is a massive enforcement exercise that includes confiscation of all non-Type Approved communications equipment and mobile handsets, and any other equipment that does not meet the minimum required standards set by the commission.
