Millions left with blocked phones in India

Millions of mobile phone users in India found that their mobile phones were not working due to the government’s decision to block mobiles with no valid unique identification code for security reasons.

The decision was made to increase security as with out the 15 digit International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number which appears on the operator’s network whenever a call is made, it is impossible to trace either the caller or the phone or to access call details.

The Indian intelligence agencies have said attacks by terrorists have been made via mobile phones without this code.

Mobile phones without the code were blocked at midnight – operators were asked to bar calls to them “in the wake of increased threat perception from militants”.

There is an estimated 25 million phones without IMEI codes in India which are generally handsets with invalid numbers and that are mostly cheap, unbranded phones. Millions of these phones are manufactured in India or imported, mostly from China.

The Indians usually purchase the un-coded phones as they are cheaper then the regular branded phones.

The Indians with the illegal phones are outraged as they were not aware that such a code was required when purchasing the phones.

The Cellular Operators’ Association of India has asked the government to extend the deadline for blocking the numbers so that it can install identity numbers on unbranded devices.

According to estimates by the Indian Cellular Association, unbranded phones account for nearly 30% of all sales in India.