The parallel market of ICT devices, counterfeiting and theft have become a growing problem with serious economic and social consequences. In Tunisia, the illegal importation of mobile phones and tablets makes up 60 percent of the mobile phone market, costing the legitimate importers considerable lost sales and the government about 10 million TND tax revenue losses in addition to a significant number of direct and indirect lost jobs.
Due to scale of the negative impacts to the mobile ecosystem, the Tunisian government decided to put in a place a proper regulatory and technical framework that can serve as an excellent foundation to controlling the proliferation of counterfeit, illegal, non-compliant & stolen devices.
The Centre d’Etudes et de Recherche des Télécommunications (CERT), together with the cooperation of the Ministry of Communication Technologies, developed and implemented a technology-based system, known as SAJALNI (the equivalent to register me in Arabic), to enforce regulations.
SAJALNI is a National Central Equipment Identity Register that enables identification, registration and control of devices connecting to the nation’s mobile networks. It is a decision support tool for citizens, which provides the status of mobile device (new, used, and rejected) by simply dialing the USSD code.
The main benefits of the system are:
- Avoid illegal importation of ICT devices
- Fight against stolen ICT mobile devices
- Limit the use of non-compliant phones
- Protect the economy and generate additional tax revenue
- Protect consumer safety
- Ensure a good quality of service to consumers
- Protect the national frequency spectrum
A public awareness campaign was launched on 16th December 2020 targeting importers, distributors, traders, and customers to ensure that all the ecosystem is aware of this new regulation and ready to register mobile. Different communication channels: SMS mesages, TV, Radio, etc.

https://sajalni.tn

• Tunisia

• Youth
• Older persons
• Women
• People with disabilities
• The unemployed
• The poor
• Migrants
• Refugees and internally displaced people
• Remote and rural communities
• - Citizens, Tourists, Government, Operators and Legitimate importers

Governments and industries are in need to deploy solutions to solve the issue of counterfeit and stolen ICT devices more widely in countries across the world to ensure one country’s illegal devices do not simply relocate to another country lacking proper solution. Every country is indeed at risk and the problem needs to be addressed globally.

SAJALNI is convenient for all stakeholders and can be adapted to local country regulations without the need for any customization efforts. SAJALNI is a technology-based system that allows the control of mobile terminals market, combating counterfeit and stolen ICT devices. The integration of the GSMA database into the system SAJALNI is an important step in the fight against counterfeit and illicitly traded mobile devices, and in addressing the problem globally.

CERT is actively involved in the technical work of ITU-T Study Group 11 Question 15 (Q15/11) "Combating counterfeit and stolen ICT equipment" which currently focuses on the preparation of two Technical Reports ;Guidelines on Best Practice and Solutions for Combating Counterfeit ICT Devices (TR-BR_CF); and a report on use of anti-counterfeiting technical solutions relying on unique and persistent mobile device identifiers (TR-Uni_Id)

The project is the fruit of strong sponsorship and close collaboration among stakeholders, who believe that the project will bring positive results in a sustainably way.
The sustainability of the project is ensured at economic and social levels:

- At economic level, the system SAJALNI will reduce the parallel market, tax evasion and ensure efficient use of a scarce public resource (radio spectrum). It helps legitimate importers to increase sales from eliminating unfair competition, while increases the growth of legal taxation and jobs creation.

- At social level, SAJALNI will reduce the threat of crime, helps fight against the theft of mobile devices and strengthens consumer protection by limiting the adverse effects of counterfeit phones on health (excess radiation) and data privacy.

SAJALNI promotes WSIS values in the society by using ICT solution to protect consumers and economy from the serious impact of counterfeiting on the ICT market, ranging from lost taxes and other revenue to erosion of brand value, network disruptions and interoperability challenges resulting in poor service delivery; and risks to health, safety and environment. It encourages the use of legal ICT equipment to promote access to information and knowledge to all persons in the society.