Calls from mobile handsets without IMEI numbers barred from 30 November: DoT

In line with its earlier directives, the Department of Telecom (DoT) has asked all mobile operators to bar all calls originating from handsets without International Mobile Equipment Identification (IMEI) number or those with fake IMEI number from 30 November 2009.

An IMEI number would allows security agencies to track down a handset to a specific user and to retrieve its call history, while helping to locate those using stolen handsets from making calls.

Each mobile handset is required to have a unique IMEI number, which is a 15 to17-digit code that comes embedded with every mobile handset and is used to identify the handset on the operator's network.

This unique IMEI number for each mobile handset worldwide is provided by the Global Systems for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), which is activated every fortnight in the equipment identification registers (EIRs) of mobile service provider s network.

The IMEI code represents the manufacturer's name, model and type of the phone and is automatically registered with the mobile phone service provider as soon as a phone is activated.

Indian security agencies had apprised the union home ministry that mobile handsets without IMEI number or those with fake IMEI number, are used by terrorists in the country and it was impossible to trace the handset to the owner.