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Calls from Chinese, local assembled phones to be barred in India
By siliconindia
|
Wednesday, 15 October 2008, 16:29 IST
New Delhi: The $88 million (
4000 crore) Chinese handset market, which constitutes 13.3 percent of the total handset market in India is deemed to shatter with the Department of Telecommunication (DOT) barring calls from such mobiles."At least one-crore users of Chinese handsets will be affected as they might start seeing their calls getting barred," says Indian Cellular Association President Pankaj Mohindroo.
Infact, a low-cost Chinese or locally assembled phone may no more be an option for the buyers as these handsets which are without the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number will be made invalid. Moreover, the mobile phones with zeroes or no zeroes in their 14 digit IMEI identification number will also be barred, which can be seen by typing *#06# .
According to Economic Times, the move is initiated as a check to terrorist activities whose mobiles did not have any IMEI code. Once the regulation is active the phones coming under the barred criteria will show no network signal or will display 'Invalid SIM' or 'SIM Registration Failed'.
However, there are loopholes in the new regulation whereby fake IMEI number with atleast one zero will not be counted under the barred process. As a result many of the local dealers are offering a change in the numbers though there is a continuous trial on the part of the mobile phone manufacturers to curb it. According to them it is an illegal phenomenon in India unlike that in UK and Poland. Moreover, government fears that militants might use such software which can switch an IMEI of a mobile phone several times during a call thus making that caller virtually untraceable.
4000 crore) Chinese handset market, which constitutes 13.3 percent of the total handset market in India is deemed to shatter with the Department of Telecommunication (DOT) barring calls from such mobiles."At least one-crore users of Chinese handsets will be affected as they might start seeing their calls getting barred," says Indian Cellular Association President Pankaj Mohindroo.
Infact, a low-cost Chinese or locally assembled phone may no more be an option for the buyers as these handsets which are without the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number will be made invalid. Moreover, the mobile phones with zeroes or no zeroes in their 14 digit IMEI identification number will also be barred, which can be seen by typing *#06# .
According to Economic Times, the move is initiated as a check to terrorist activities whose mobiles did not have any IMEI code. Once the regulation is active the phones coming under the barred criteria will show no network signal or will display 'Invalid SIM' or 'SIM Registration Failed'.
However, there are loopholes in the new regulation whereby fake IMEI number with atleast one zero will not be counted under the barred process. As a result many of the local dealers are offering a change in the numbers though there is a continuous trial on the part of the mobile phone manufacturers to curb it. According to them it is an illegal phenomenon in India unlike that in UK and Poland. Moreover, government fears that militants might use such software which can switch an IMEI of a mobile phone several times during a call thus making that caller virtually untraceable.
