In a fresh move to strengthen security in India, telecom authorities this week imposed a ban on all services to mobile phones without a valid identification number.
Associated Press
In this Sept. 21, 2009 photo, an artist Santosh Kumar speaks on a mobile phone before going on stage for a traditional Ramleela drama, narrating the life of Hindu God Rama, to celebrate the festival of Dussehra in Allahabad, India.
The order for banning illegal mobile phones was issued in August, and mobile-service providers were asked to comply with the order as of Dec. 1.
A 15-digit International Mobile Equipment Identification, or IMEI, number is used to identify a handset on an mobile-phone operator's network, which allows individual calls to be traced. The number helps track lost or stolen handsets that the country's security agencies monitor.
Mobile-phone providers are required to issue an IMEI number when a new phone is activated, something they didn't always comply with before Dec. 1.
The order by the Ministry of Telecommunications is seen as addressing concerns over the use of unregistered phones by terrorists. It bans mobile connections to phones using fake IMEI numbers.
"Mobile phones with an incorrect IMEI … number have been disconnected from December 1," an official at the telecom ministry said Wednesday.
The order doesn't apply to prepaid phone cards except for the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The government in that state last month banned pre-paid phones, although the ban doesn't address this issue of pre-paid phones being brought into the state from another part of the country.
The order leaves users of millions of unregistered mobile-phones with two options: purchase a new phone with a valid IMEI number or register their existing phone number using software through the Cellular Operators Association of India, a mobile-industry group.
The Indian Cellular Association on Tuesday, which represents the mobile industry, said it "firmly stood" by the decision of the telecom ministry to block services to banned mobile phones. The association said this week that all unregistered mobile-phone users were disconnected as of Dec. 1.
The group says that low-cost unbranded phones -- mostly from China -- without an IMEI number account for nearly 30% of all sales in India. Roughly, 100 million mobile phones are sold annully in India, according to the association.
China has made a major foray into the Indian cellular-phone market in recent years, many of which are sold as unregistered phones. These phones are sold throughout India and tend to be popular with low-income consumers.
Source:wsj.com
