ITU-T Recommendations

There has been growing usage of information and communications technology (ICT) equipment in people's daily lives in recent years, but there have also been unwelcome side effects related to the increase in the sale, circulation and use of counterfeit ICT devices in the market.

A counterfeit ICT device is a product that explicitly infringes the trademark, copies hardware or software designs, or infringes brand or packaging rights of an original or authentic product and, in general, infringes applicable national and/or international technical standards, regulatory requirements or conformity processes, manufacturing licensing agreements, or other applicable legal requirements.

Among the various types of ICT devices used today, smartphones and other mobile devices have become pervasive and desirable items amongst the world population and, as a side effect, have also raised the attention of the global black/grey market.

This results in adverse consequences for stakeholders such as users, network operators, genuine device manufacturers, traders and governments, including decreased security protection and quality of service for users and revenue losses to a range of stakeholders.

Since the supply and demand economics for counterfeit ICT devices complicate attempts to tackle the global counterfeit market, no single solution can solve the problem alone, requiring that a broad range of measures to be taken in a holistic approach.

Recommendation ITU-T Q.5050 therefore aims to describe a reference framework, with high-level challenges and requirements that should be considered when deploying solutions to combat the circulation and use of counterfeit ICT devices.