No service for mobiles with invalid IMEI

Operators begin sending messages to subscribers.

Phones from the grey market can now land you in trouble as telecom operators have started informing subscribers that services to cellphones without a valid International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number will soon be disconnected.

Concerned over national security, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had asked operators to disconnect services to handsets that do not have an IMEI number.

IMEI is a unique 15 digit code that identifies a mobile. It prevents the use of stolen handsets for making calls and allows lawful interception to prove the use of a particular device. The IMEI number appears on the operator’s network whenever a call is made.

The DoT had asked the service providers to equip networks with the Equipment Identity Register (EIR) to check whether calls were made from genuine handsets.

The service providers have been given a deadline of March 31, 2009, to comply with the order.

One of the leading telecom service provider has already started sending out messages to its subscribers to use phones with IMEI number or face disconnection.

Indian Cellular Association (ICA), the industry body for handset makers, said the government should also impose restrictions at the point of import of mobile devices without IMEI number.

“Besides disconnecting the phones without an IMEI number, the government should also impose restrictions at the point of import of such devices,” ICA President Pankaj Mahindroo said. He called for a stricter vigilance in the grey market places where IMEI number could be duplicated.

Moreover, there is no central mechanism to prohibit the use of stolen phones. The bulk of grey market phones, predominantly originating from China, do not have genuine IMEI numbers.

Handset maker Nokia India said: “Nokia has been working with trade bodies like the ICA to create awareness around this issue and would request all consumers to get their IMEI numbers validated before the deadline.”