The expanded Nigerian mobile phone market has continued to create room for an influx of more devices into the country with the latest Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) statistics putting type-approved phones at 2,346 within the over two-decade revolution of telecoms in the country.

Checks by The Guardian showed that as of August 27, there were 2,303 type-approved phones, which rose from 2,257 as of June 2024. The figure climbed to 2,345 as of December 9. As of yesterday, it grew to 2,346.

From June to yesterday, some new 88 mobile phone types entered the Nigerian market.

Interestingly, mobile phones from the Chinese Transsion Group comprising Tecno, Infinix and iTel currently have the largest number of approved phones in the Nigerian market.

The devices, which are of different brands and models are those that have been tested by the telecoms regulator and found to meet the applicable type approval standards required to allow them to be sold to consumers in Nigeria.

According to checks, phone brands under Transsion Group comprising Tecno, Infinix and iTel currently have over 600 models of their phones approved for sale in Nigeria. Other leading brands in the market are Nokia being marketed in Nigeria by HMD Global and Samsung from South Korea.

Other leading brands in the market with more than 40 models approved include Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo. Others like iPhone, iTel, realme and Honor are equally competing.

According to the leadership of the NCC, the approval of mobile devices for the market became necessary to tackle the menace of counterfeit phones being sold in the market.

NCC noted that the list of approved phones published by the commission allowed Nigerians to check if the phone they want to buy has been tested and approved for the market.

“The menace of counterfeit and substandard handsets has assumed a global dimension and requires a lot of education on the part of the consumers and collaboration with other government agencies to address it.

“Cases of influx and patronage of counterfeit handsets are more rampant in developing countries, such as Nigeria, where importers bring in substandard phones without recourse to the regulatory type-approval process aimed at certifying such devices as fit for the market,” it noted.

Against the background, the Global System for Mobile Telecommunications Association (GSMA) has disclosed that while a third of consumers pass on used phones to friends and family often during Christmas, 75 per cent continue to store at least one old device, raising sustainability concerns.

GSMA, in a survey spanning 10,000 consumers across 26 countries, the industry association said more than 40 per cent of phones worldwide are repurposed through trade-ins or handing down. Also, with 10 per cent of consumers in the UK investing in refurbished devices, the country far surpassed the global average of four per cent for second-hand device purchases.

Estimates also suggested that the used smartphone market is projected to eclipse new smartphone sales in years to come, as 2023 saw a six per cent year-on-year increase in the market for reused and refurbished handsets, while sales of new devices deteriorated by four per cent.

However, approximately five to 10 billion used phones remain dormant globally, according to GSMA, as consumers retain devices for reasons including a lack of knowledge about their disposal and the potential loss of photos and memorable data.

The GSMA elaborated that if half the number of devices in this estimate were recycled, $8 billion worth of critical materials could be recovered.

While sustainability gains precedence, particularly amongst younger smartphone buyers, cash trade-ins and thorough data deletion remain the most compelling incentives for phone recycling.

Head of Climate Action at the GSMA, Steven Moore, said the survey highlighted the need for “secure and easy ways” to “responsibly” trade in phones.

“With these markets only expected to grow, this presents many opportunities for companies to innovate to serve this demand,” he added.