savramesh 37 Report post Posted June 22, 2009 Economic Times 22 Jun 2009, 0031 hrs IST NEW DELHI: After banning the import of all mobile handsets that do not have a unique international identification code, the government has now decided to crack down on telcos who still allow their subscribers to use such handsets on their networks. The Department of Telecom (DoT) has now asked all operators to furnish details as to how many of their customers, who use cheap Chinese handsets without the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number (a 15-digit code which appears on the operator’s network whenever a call is made), have availed of the software update which will enable these phones to get a unique number. In May 2009, following a government directive to ban all handsets that do not have an IMEI number on account of security issues, all telcos jointly had said they would get their subscribers who used such devices to get a software update, which would provide these phones with an unique identity, as required by the law. Telcos also said that they had set up over 1,600 centres across the country to enable their customers to get this software installed for a fee of Rs 180. Telcos had also argued that since ‘most of these handsets are owned by the masses, it would be unfair and unjust to disconnect such customers as they have bought these handsets unknowingly’, while adding that software update would address the security concerns raised by intelligence agencies and the Home Ministry. The software was jointly developed by GSM operators’ body Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) and Mobile Standards Alliance of India. It is estimated that close to 25 million of the 400 million plus mobile users in the country use cheap Chinese handsets without IMEI numbers. This unique code reflects on the operator’s network whenever a call is made or received from any handset and therefore allows lawful interception of all calls. Mobile operators store these numbers in Equipment Identity Register (EIR) — so if a handset is stolen, and its owner can provide the IMEI number to his operator to ensure that all calls from this device is barred. In October 2008, the DoT asked telcos to install EIR so that calls without IMEI or with IMEI consisting of all zeroes are not processed. This followed investigations by security agencies looking into the bomb blasts in several Indian cities this year which revealed that mobile phones used by terrorists did not bear valid IMEI numbers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
