Trai proposes mechanism to block lost mobile phones

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) today released a consultation paper on issues relating to blocking of international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) of lost/stolen mobile handsets.

The service provider can flag the IMEI number of the handset and block the handset in its own network in case of a complaint regarding theft or loss of a handset.

At present, the telecom service providers only block the SIM card in case a lost or theft complaint is registered by the user with them and there is no mechanism in place to block a mobile phone in case it is lost.

Mobile phone theft is a serious concern to the consumers, specially because of valuable personal data/information stored in it. At present, there is no mechanism in place to block a mobile phone in case it is lost.

The telecom regulator has sought views from service providers and other stakeholders on ways to block lost or stolen mobile phones, to curtail the illegal handset market, discourage handset theft and protect consumer interest.

Currently, there are over 670 million mobile phone connections in the country and around 18 to 19 million new connections are being added every month. The number of mobile phones lost or missing is also alarmingly high but remains untracked.

Trai had initiated a preliminary consultation process on the issue in 2004. However, at that time, a number of service providers were not having the capability to track/block the handset in their network. Therefore, the matter was not proceeded further.