BUCHAREST, Romania-At the end of May, the principle vendors of mobile telephones in Romania held a meeting to discuss the country’s black market for mobile handset sales.
In the other Eastern and Central European countries, the illegal import level is much less than in Romania, but here the problem of handsets sold through improper means has reached vast proportions. Almost 70 percent of the GSM handsets sold in the market are “unofficially” introduced into the country, representing nearly a US$17.5 million market.
The unofficial cellular telephones come particularly from countries such as Turkey, Germany, Spain, Hungary, Italy and France. Until earlier this year, the government did not have legislation banning the practice of importing handsets from wireless carriers in other countries. A company can buy mobile phones from another country, obtain type authorization from the Romanian authorities, and sell the phones in Romania at lower prices than officially introduced handsets. However, the phones must be decoded to work in Romania, which nulls their warranties.
“The dimensions of this phenomena, unusual for Europe, force the active producers of mobile telephones in Romania to take a common action,” said Calin Constantin with Alcatel Romania. “We try in this way to attract the attention of the press to a situation that affects in equal measure the consumers and the state.”
Alcatel, Ericsson, Mitsubishi, Motorola and Nokia warn customers that all acquisitions of mobile phones from uncertain sources present a series of risks. Almost all the pirated telephones need to be decoded to be used on the local GSM networks. Decoding the telephones also involves modifying the telephone software, which is considered illegal.
Due to this situation, in January, the Romanian government modified a law with the specification that the falsification and modification of telephone software is illegal. The modified ordinance stipulates penalties between US$100 and US$1,000 for selling illegal handsets.
“Nokia Romania recommended to the buyers to ask detailed information regarding the origin of the telephones, at the sales points,” said Radu Cozma, sales manager at Nokia Romania.
Radu Ionescu, sales manager for Ericsson Romania said: “For the handsets imported by legal ways, Ericsson gives quality warranties and guarantees service in authorized points, where the personnel have the necessary qualifications.”
Due to good collaboration between the telephone manufacturers and the Romanian Office of Consumer Protection, numerous controls have been made on importers and companies that sell GSM handsets.
“Due to the underestimated value of the imported handsets, the customs taxes and the VAT (value-added tax) are not the real taxes that must be paid to the state. Depending on the telephone type, the damages for a single handset are at least US$50. Due to the rapid growth of the total number of the customers of mobile phones, this phenomena needs immediate measures, ” stated Claudia Popa, general manager at HAT International, the local reseller of Mitsubishi Electric France.
Romania was home to almost 1.6 million GSM customers as of the beginning of June.
“The black market for mobile telephones affects the good name of the products we represent,” declared Daniela Andreescu, representative of Motorola Romania. “Consumers expect to pay a price for the quality guaranteed by a brand of a telephone, but they don’t know that unauthorized actions can harm the telephone and cancel the guarantee of the name brand.”
With the help of the Office of Consumer Protection and the National Agency for Communications and Information Technology, Alcatel, Ericsson, Mitsubishi, Motorola and Nokia will continue their individual programs for minimizing the problem. In addition, the government has said it will work with the companies to enact further legislation to combat the problem.
