Illegal mobile phones may no longer ring

Mobile phones without unique identification numbers may stop ringing from Tuesday, if operators are following government directions. The Department of Telecommunications, has told telecom companies to block calls to such devices from 30 November. 

The government has been making efforts to block phones without an IMEI number since early April. IMEI is a 15-digit code unique to every mobile handset. It prevents the use of stolen handsets for making calls, and allows security agencies to track down a specific user. However, a majority of handsets sold in India's grey market do not have the IMEI, which has been of concern for security agencies.

With over 25 million subscribers likely to be affected by the move, the telcos continue to plead for an extension of the deadline. They have asked for another two-month extension to implement the order.

In September this year, DoT had asked mobile service operators to disconnect all connections which are not in the database of GSMA. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) had then made provision to incorporate a valid IMEI into such handsets through the use of software.

The operators have set up 1,600 outlets for implanting the IMEI number on handsets lacking it through standardised software, but are nowhere near reaching the 20 million consumers suspected of owning a handset without the number.

(See: Mobile operators told to crack down on illegal phones)