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Articles tagged with: Imei
Switzerland to start blocking stolen handsets
Switzerland's Swisscom Mobile has started blocking the imei serial numbers of handsets that are reported to it as being stolen. Although a theft does not have to be reported to the police for a block to be activated, it is nevertheless recommended for insurance purposes. Blocked mobile phones can be unblocked within one working day following a call to the hotline and are then fully operational once more. The only requirement is for the caller to be identified as the legal owner of the mobile phone. more
Related Tags: prepay, swisscom
Australia to outlaw IMEI changing
Australia's government says that it will make it an offence to 'rebirth' stolen mobile telephones by modifying their unique imei number, the Minister for Communications, Information, Technology and the Arts, Senator Richard Alston, and the Minister for Justice and Customs, Senator Chris Ellison, announced last week. more
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Telstra blocks 25,000 stolen handsets"
Australia's Telstra says that it has blocked 25,000 lost or stolen GSM phones from its network. On average Telstra is blocking 119 phones a day, down from 137 in August 2002, when it first introduced the initiative. Telstra became the first Australian carrier to introduce this technology last August, and when the final mobile carrier introduces imei blocking at the end of March, phones reported as lost or stolen will be unable to be used on any GSM network. Telstra's latest figures on lost and stolen mobile phones also show that of the 25,000 blocked phones - 30% were lost and 70% were stolen, with 12% later found by the owners and unblocked. more
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New IMEI protocols for GSM handsets
From the begining of this year, a new imei allocation procedure has been in place. The changes relate to the format of the imei; the Final Assembly Code (FAC) will be obsolete and be set to 00 for the period from 01/01/2003 until 31/03/2004. A new version of the Application Form, BABT 730, Issue 5, can be downloaded from the BABT web site. more
Related Tags: gsm-association, tac
First raid on IMEI reprogrammers under new UK laws
The UK's Midlands Police today took part in what is believed to be the country's first raid on a shop believed to be responsible for reprogramming - or 'cloning' - of stolen mobile phones. A computer, software and other equipment were seized during the raid, which took place at a mobile phone shop in Alum Rock, Birmingham. Two men are currently helping the police with their enquiries. more
Related Tags: prison
UK to make IMEI re-programming illegal
A new bill was proposed yesterday in the UK's parliament that will make it illegal to reprogram the identity of a cellphone. This will make it illegal to modify a handset that has been blocked by the networks and give it a "clean" identity. The BBC has reported this morning that the government will outline details supporting the bill, which would ensure that it is passed into law with the minimum of delay. The new bill proposes that offenders are sentenced to up to five years in jail for each offence. more
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Teenager arrested over stolen cellphone mistake
The BBC has reported that the UK's largest cellphone retailer has had to apologize after it accidentally "offered" a cellphone that was registered as stolen with the police and cellular networks. The news service reported that a family had purchased a Nokia handset for their teenage son's birthday. After the phone developed a fault, he took it to a local store and they replaced it with a model from stock, and after that also had problems connecting to the network he took it to another store for a repair. That shop called the police after the handset imei was identified as being on a stolen handset blacklist. more
Related Tags: carphone-warehouse
Australia to get stolen handset blocking from August
As we originally reported in February, Australia's Telstra has now outlined the plans for its blocking of stolen and lost imei handsets on its network. Telstra Mobile Group Managing Director, David Thodey, made the full details known at the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA) Congress in Sydney today. more
Thai network pressured to allow unregistered handsets
Thailand's House Consumer Protection Committee is putting pressure on the local GSM network, Advanced Info Service (AIS) to allow handsets that it has not sold to be used on its network. The Telephone Organisation of Thailand (TOT) has been asked by the committee to require that AIS comes into line with local regulations and allow imported handsets to be used on the AIS network. AIS has delayed unlocking its network, saying that the move would result in a flood of, in its opinion, inferior handsets from overseas. Local media reported that if they do unlock their network to allow imported handsets, then they may take the option of offering a different level of customer care to customers who don't use "approved" handsets. more
Related Tags: advanced-info-service, dtac, customer-care, ais, teenagers
France joins battle against cellphone crime
All three of France's mobile phone networks are to set up a joint database of blacklisted imei's to prevent stolen handsets being used on their networks. The newly formed French Association of Mobile Operators will also lobby the government on behalf of the industry as well as assisting in fighting crime and promoting safety issues. The database will be ready by June, but is not expected to be fully working until the end of the year. more
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