The Department of Telecom has assigned the mobile phone tracking project–aimed at bringing down counterfeit cellphones and discouraging theft –to the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT).
“Decision was taken in July 2017 to get the project done through BSNl. Now, the decision has been reviewed to assign the project to C-DoT,” an official said. C-DoT will have to develop and implement the project which is named Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR).
The Government has proposed to allocate Rs 15 crore for setting up CEIR in the country that will bring down the number of counterfeit handsets and discourage theft, according to the Union Budget 2018-19.
The CEIR system will block all services on stolen or lost mobile phones on any network even if the SIM card is removed or IMEI number of the handset is changed. CEIR is also expected to protect consumer interest and facilitate law enforcement authorities for lawful interception. CEIR will connect the IMEI database of all mobile operators.