The Communications Commission of Kenya has put on hold the directive to mobile phone service providers to switch off fake handsets from their network, saying it needs to consult widely.

At a Press conference on Tuesday, the industry regulator said the directive was only one of the many options it placed with the operators as a way of dealing with counterfeits.

They are also putting the number of counterfeit handsets in the market at 2.3 million, and not the 4.4 million figure earlier given as the estimate.

The data, it added, was collected across the four network operators in Kenya -- Safaricom, Airtel Kenya, Telkom Orange and Essar Telkom Kenya.

"We have not decided what action to take," CCK acting director general Francis Wangusi said.

"We will know the way forward on this when we meet the operators and other arms of government on September 9."

Earlier communication was that the regulator had ordered operators to switch off all handsets whose international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) was not registered by September 30, 2011.

Globally, all mobile phones are assigned a unique 15-digit IMEI code upon production, which is the backbone of genuine handsets.

While the operators asked for a meeting to consult on the issue, a public outcry followed, with subscribers noting that they should not be punished over the issue.

"When we act we shall ensure that there is minimal interruption for subscribers," said Mr Wangusi.

It is estimated that counterfeit phones cost the Kenyan economy an upward of Sh3.2 billion annually.

"Educating the public on counterfeits would play a key role in reducing the trade," said Anti-Counterfeit Agency boss Stephen Mallowah on Tuesday.