The executive Director of Uganda communications commission Godfrey Mutable has disclosed that the machines are already in the country and public sensitization is scheduled to begin in February this year.
UCC had put on hold the switch off deadline claiming that there were no funds to procure machines to detect the phones and the public was not able to tell what a counterfeit handset is.
The telecom companies and other stakeholders are working closely with the regulator to ensure the transition of counterfeit handset usage into original sets is smooth and objective.
The switch comes with a lot advantages that range from protecting the environment, lives and the time and money lost in dropping calls.
About one million fake handsets are said to have been switched off in Kenya since October last year, out of 30 million targeted by the Communications Commission of Kenya.
Major mobile phone manufacturers including Nokia and Samsung have for long lobbied governments in Eastern and Southern Africa to ban the counterfeit mobile handsets.
Source: NBS
