In safe hands

New Delhi, Jan 8: Mobile phone thieves will soon have a hard time selling or using stolen gizmos.

Mobile phone theft and its re-use is becoming a major problem in all countries. This also has a serious security dimension. In India too, despite the rapid growth of the mobile telephony market, there is still a wide gap in the costs of handsets in the grey market and the legitimate market.

The problem of theft of handsets in cities, especially metros, was a major concern to consumers and also the operators. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has been considering for sometime the need to evolve a regime to disincentivise the theft of handsets through legislation and other policies.

Trai today issued a consultation paper on mobile phone theft, with a view to seek opinions and suggestions to address this issue.

“We have suggested that a beginning could be made with the development of equipment identity register (EIR) database, with a centralised EIR together with procedures of exchanging information and for blocking of handsets that are reported to be stolen,” said a senior Trai official.

Comments have been invited on a number of issues by the regulator, including the role of the regulator in this matter, how to address the problem of duplicate identification number for the handsets, procedures required for collection/updation of data and interaction amongst the relevant entities, ownership and cost implication of setting up of the central equipment identity register, and the need for legislative changes.

Recently, some steps have been taken in the UK to address the issue of mobile phone theft through legislative changes and efforts to collaborate on database development and data sharing. A number of other countries in Europe are also considering similar steps.

In view of the growing concern over mobile phone theft for consumers and security concerns that this poses, the consultation paper summarises some relevant aspects of the problem, lists certain findings and the current position of different countries on this problem, and takes up a solution considered by United Kingdom and other European countries as a starting point.

The paper notes a wide range of actions required to curb theft of mobile handsets which involve data collection, dissemination and use, legislative actions, public awareness programmes, and collaboration among various entities, both within the country and outside, which include operators, manufacturers of handsets, the police and other government departments.

The paper notes that a comprehensive solution would require major effort and time and it would be necessary to identify certain initial steps which would begin the process of addressing the theft of mobile handsets, and would yield significant results.

These steps are suggested as blocking of handsets and collaborative efforts among operators and manufacturers of handsets in this regard.