New software helps owners of Chinese phones without the mandatory IMEI numbers, keep their phones
New software helps owners of Chinese phones without the mandatory IMEI numbers, keep their phones
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"The users of these Chinese-made handsets can continue using it into the New Year," the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) Director General T V Ramachandran said. In wake of the serial blasts in Delhi, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks there was difficulty in tracking these phones given the absence of the IMEI number, forcing the government of India to announce the cutting off of mobile services to handsets that do not have an IMEI number by January 6.
The software, which would have to be downloaded on to the handset, would generate a unique IMEI code for Chinese handsets. "The solution is ready. It will be made available to users once the Department of Telecommunications checks it out," he said.
Ramachandran added that there were genuine citizens who were ignorant about the IMEI number when they bought these handsets. "COAI has given them (users) an alternative. Customers will have to pay a small fee, maybe about Rs 100, for the software, but this is better than throwing away the handset," he quipped.
According to a COAI official it was wrong for the government to target the cellular operators for the missing IMEI number. "The finance ministry should direct the customs authorities to ban the shipment of such handsets into the country, if these handsets are illegal and pose a security threat, how can the government allow these products into India," a Vodafone official asked.
COAI website states that Chinese handsets make up for about 13.3 per cent, or Rs 4,000 crore, of India's total mobile market, which is about Rs 30,000 crore a year. Every month, about 16.8 lakh Chinese and locally-assembled handsets are sold in India. A GPRS-enabled Chinese handset costs about Rs 3,000, against at least Rs 5,000 for a similar branded phone. "While most Chinese imports have IMEI numbers, it is only a small percent of the devices from the country that are illegal," explained an official of Reliance Communications which launched its GSM based mobile service in Mumbai on Saturday.
What is IMEI?
IMEI is a unique 15-digit code that comes with every mobile and helps uniquely identify the handset. This number is reflected in 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, its owner can provide the IMEI number to his operator and ensure that all calls from this device are barred.
NO EIR set up
Mobile Phone operators in India currently don't have an Equipment Identity Register, though the ministry has asked all mobile phone operators to install an EIR so that calls without IMEI or with IMEI consisting of all zeroes are not processed. Cellular phone operators claim that equipment has to be imported and also tested extensively before it can be installed on the networks and hence requires time. Having an EIR was made compulsory after 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.
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