25 million mobile phones without IMEI blocked

New Delhi, Dec 1: Taking a landmark step to tighten the security across India, the government successfully implemented the ban on mobile phones on without International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI).

The deadline issued by the government to the operators ended on Monday, Nov 30. As the ban came into effect on Tuesday, Dec 1, over 25 million phones without the unique identification number were blocked at midnight.

Since it is impossible for the service providers and the security agencies to trace the mobile phone without the 15-digit number identification number, intelligence officials have found that terrorists use these handsets to plot attacks or to communicate during the attack.

In interest of national security, the Department of Telecommunications took the decision to ban these in Oct 2008, two months before the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in Nov 2008.

OneIndia News