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Rwanda: RBS Prepares to Take Action Against Unhealthy Fake Phones |
| Source: |
Rwanda Focus (Kigali)
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| Source Date: |
Monday, September 24, 2012 |
| Focus: |
ICT for MDGs
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| Country: |
Rwanda |
| Created: |
Sep 25, 2012 |
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Rwanda remains a safe haven for fake phones despite neighbors Kenya and Uganda announcing a war to eliminate them from the market largely because of their negative market impact and the threat they pose on human lives.
But while at least Kenya and Uganda have an idea of the magnitude of the problem, Rwanda has no idea and concerned authorities can't do anything, not because they don't care but because they have no legal apparatus or technical capacity to do so. The country has no capacity to detect radiation levels let alone read them and currently depends on firms in Kenya to do so.
"Mobile phone regulation is still relatively a grey area in which we are investing resources to be able to deal with the concerns raised," said Phillip Nzeire, the director of quality assurance at Rwanda Bureau of standards (RBS) the national body charged with setting product and service standards and enforcing them in the country.
Unfortunately, RBS currently has no standard upon which to base their regulation of mobile phone importers into the country. Even if they had the standard in place, there is no law on which to base their mandate as the existing one, a ministerial order, only regards computers and other electronics without mentioning cellphones.
According to RBS, the most dangerous part of the cellphone is its battery.
"If it's leaking, the chemicals pose a danger to lives of users and that should be a concern to us," admitted Nzeire whose office is charged with ensuring assurance that the public is not exposed to dangerous products on the market.
But then, the battery is just one part.
"To regulate phones, you need about four laboratories, one for the electrical parts, the battery, accessories and the antennae and then a standard for each of the four units," an independent expert explained.
RBS is in the final stages of procuring technology to test authenticity of phone batteries. And two weeks ago, the standards body advertised to recruit experts in this area.
Radiation
The biggest risk presented by fake phones relates to their electro-magnetic radiation emitted.
While legitimate phones are known to emit radiation levels not deemed to be harmful to the health of users, fake phones on the other hand are believed to emit higher levels of radiation which expose users to higher risks.
"Radiation emissions indeed pose a risk to human lives depending on the amounts one is exposed to, but there's no reason for public alarm really as the risks are minimal," said Emmanuel Rudakemwa, a radiation expert in Rwanda.
Sadly even in this case, there's no national standard for how much radiation exposure is allowed. Obviously risks of exposure depend on the environment one is in but most countries have established radiation detection and control boards, which Rwanda does not have.
Experts say that while 25 rems (roentgen equivalent in man) used as a measurement for radiation levels causes some detectable changes in blood, doses above 100 rems usually can cause the first signs of radiation sickness including nausea, vomiting, headache and some loss of white blood cells.
Therefore, if a fake phone emits higher levels of radiation, there's substantial risk for a big part of Rwanda's 4.6million phone holders most of whom hold cheap and unhealthy handsets.
According to Dr Rudakemwa, part of the radio waves emitted by a mobile telephone handset is absorbed by the human head.
A phone emits more radiation, according to experts, when the network signal is weak, when the battery at its lowest and therefore it is advisable not to use handsets in that state.
Another precaution is to hold cell phones at a distance while receiving calls or using headsets with experts claiming the distance reduces exposure of the tissue near the ears.
"To be honest, there's a lot we might not know and what research findings we have, have been funded by the same firms which produce the gadgets we are talking about, leaving a lot in doubt," remarked Dr. Rudakemwa.
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Rwanda: RBS Prepares to Take Action Against Unhealthy Fake Phones Rwanda remains a safe haven for fake phones despite neighbors Kenya and Uganda announcing a war to eliminate them from the market largely because of their negative market impact and the threat they pose on human lives
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