he Indian government is planning to impose a penalty on all GSM operators for not disconnecting mobile services on handsets without a 16-digit International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has shot off a notice to operators warning about the per-day fine. The DoT said that when a penalty is imposed, it will be doubled up every 15 days until 15 April if the operators fail to follow the DoT's order.
The GSM operators have provided connections to about 25 million Chinese handsets that don't carry the IMEI code. These handsets can be easily tracked. Calls made or received through them can also be intercepted lawfully, showing the provider's details.
The telcos store all their subscribers' numbers in an Equipment Identity Register (EIR) to avoid unauthorised usage of stolen handsets. Some operators haven't yet installed EIRs on their network. The DoT has set a deadline of 15 April for operators to install EIRs.
The telcos feel that subscribers using cheap Chinese phones won't be able to afford buy new phones. But to ensure security, the telcos earlier made an alternative proposal, to install software in non-IMEI numbers.
The GSM lobby, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), has also demonstrated software to security agencies. But IB has found an error in the software which allows anyone to manipulate the genuine IMEI numbers.
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