Fake IMEI numbers worry DoT, asks telcos not to carry calls

The government has asked mobile operators to comply with national security norms by not carrying calls from fake mobile equipment identification numbers (IMEI) embedded handsets latest by November 30.

As cases of false and no IMEI number embeded handsets pile up, an worried Department of Telecom (DoT) in a directive has asked all mobile operators to reject calls coming from those handsets with IMEI numbers which are not on the database of the Global Systems for Mobile Communications Association.

The GSMA maintains a worldwide database of genuine IMEI numbers. This is activated and updated every 15 days in the Equipment Indentity Register of mobile operators' networks.

A DoT official said the onus is entirely on the operators to stop such calls from handsets without IMEI or fake IMEI numbers. For, he said, subscribers may not be aware that they are using handsets without authentic IMEI or fake numbers.

The DoT has asked the industry to submit their compliance report by December 15.

Earlier, the government had set June 30, 2009, as the deadline for the industry to comply with its security directives regarding use of mobile handsets.

The IMEI number is used to identify mobile calls. Authorities say handsets without such numbers could be used for terrorist and other subversive activities.

"It has been brought to the notice of the DoT that many mobile handsets are being authenticated in the network of mobile service providers with non-genuine IMEIs and it has posed a national security hazard," the Communications ministry earlier this month had told the telecom companies.

An industry analyst said there are about 20 million Chinese handsets without the requisite IMEI numbers. But how many handsets are with fake IMEI numbers, it is difficult to say.

At present, there are about 25 million in India, with non-branded handsets bought from the grey market, most of them Chinese. The number of handsets without IMEI numbers is not known.