Close to 25 million cellphone subscribers could get disconnected because the Deparment of Telecom has asked cellphone operators to stop providing services to subscribers who don’t have a handset with valid IMEI. If you are new to the term IMEI, you might be interested in reading my previous post What is International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) code? If you are one such subscribers who has a handset which doesn’t have an IMEI number or a valid IMEI number, you will be required to buy a new cellphone or go to any of the 1600 outlets which will be setup by the Cellular Operators Association of India. The outlets will be capable of implanting the IMEI number through a software. The COAI has tied up with Mobile Standard Alliance of India to set up retail outlets for this purpose.
The ban is aimed at new handsets being imported through illegal channels, mostly from China and Taiwan.
Mr T.V. Ramachandran, Director-General, COAI, said that, “We are activating all the 1,600-outlets right away so that consumers can start implanting the IMEI numbers. However, we feel that the November 30 deadline will be tough to meet. We will ask the Government for more time.” DoT officials, however, said that the chances of extending the deadline were remote since the Government had already pushed back the deadline twice. While the DoT move is aimed at addressing the security concerns, it will also hit the handset grey market. But handset makers said that the DoT should have ordered an outright ban on illegal handsets and not allowed operators to implant the IMEI. “This is like legalising unauthorised colonies. There is also a danger that anti-social elements could use the software to tinker with the IMEI numbers and mislead the security agencies. But Mr Ramachandran said the software was fool-proof and tested by the security agencies.
“The ban on new handsets without IMEI is in the right direction but more needs to be done to weed out grey market phones,” said a handset maker.
In the meanwhile, you can check if your cellphone has a valid 16 digit IMEI number or not by pressing *#06# on your cellphone.
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