security.

a directive appearing in the media some few days ago…phones might be bugged…before being released into the market. safaricom wako ndani

Your posting is suffering from extreme lack of details.

link?

https://www.nation.co.ke/news/CA-sets-new-rules-on-phone-imports-/1056-4575626-981i4sz/index.html

Are you planning to import mobile phones? The oversight agency has set 15 requirements any gadget must meet before it is allowed into Kenya.
In what could see the phasing out of low-end phones, the Communications Authority of Kenya will now demand that the imported device should have eight hours of talk time and 24 hours of standby time.
Talk time is the duration a fully charged battery can take when someone is talking on phone continuously while standby time is the duration a battery takes to discharge when the phone is switched on and connected to a network.
The device must also have room for installation of additional software and updates, a feature often absent in phones that are not running on Android, iOS or BlackBerry OS software.
CA, through a notice that took effect on Friday when the current issue of the Kenya Gazette was published, also says it must sample every phone that will be sold in the country.
“The authority is not obliged to return the mobile devices that have been submitted for type approval purposes,” the notice said.
RADIATION
Accompanying that sample should be a report of tests conducted in a facility recognised by the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation.
The Communications Authority also addresses itself on the radiation a device emits, setting a mandatory figure a phone should not exceed.
The radiation is measured in terms of the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) and the authority’s limit is two watts per kilogramme of human tissue.
But even if a phone meets that, the authority says, its manufacturer would not be immune to lawsuits.
“Compliance with the radiation safety standards does not by itself confer immunity from legal obligations and requirements imposed by national health or safety authorities,” says the notice signed by CA director-general Francis Wangusi.
SILENT MODE
Another requirement is that the phone’s International Mobile Equipment Identity (Imei) number should be accepted in the Global System Mobile Association database.
Other requirements include user manuals, provision of an earpiece and having the ability to lock to one service provider.
A phone must also have the volume control capability that allows users to set it either on loud, vibration or silent mode.
The 15 requirements will be an addition to a form that ICT device importers have been using to seek CA clearance since 2014.
The 2014 rules require details such as equipment category, output power, SAR among others.
In 2015, the authority embarked on switching off counterfeit mobile phones but its efforts were largely hampered by automated systems to authenticate phone serial numbers.

Osungu shida kwako, where exactly did they say that they will bug phones?

i said might. read the gazette notice and see the loopholes.

you cannot bug a million phone unless you were part of the team that created it’s OS.

But I just wonder why CA would want to limit who imports devices to the country.

i thought the import of the regulations is to ensure only quality phones are imported; not to limit the importers. there are some crappy mobile brands i only find north of nyahururu and isiolo…

But they say only licensed dealers will be allowed to import devices. This means I can’t go to alibaba and import a device on my own.

e-commerce is key feature of the information age and the global village. no one can regulate it away. i assume the regulations are meant for trade importers.

Anyway. Let’s wait and see the repercussions of the regulations. Though I don’t like these red tapes everywhere.

what you call red tapes are meant to protect that unwitting consumer at rumuruti. unfortunately we always say we want less government in our affairs but when things go wrong we turn to blame the same government…

Have worked in this industry and i can tell you cak is useless when it comes to approvals. incompetent CAK approves devices that are faulty. Have taken more than 40 different models of a certain brand and they were all approved. Mark me some could not even save phone contacts in phonebook, couldnt access internet, couldnt take photos, couldnt delete messages, and many other faults only to have realsized the problems after million of devices were flagged into the market. wrong specs were also indicated, e.g camera is (5mp but indicated as 16mp, batt 1200 mAH but indicated as 3000 e.t.c). CAK clearance ni meffi

They are trying to bite more than they can chew.

cck has moved to court to challenge ruling stopping it from spying on us. the gazette notice on phone imports is the fallback plan, as usual kenyans are always caught sleeping