KOCHI: Blame it on your phone if it goes out of service from Monday. Because all the mobile handsets which do not have a genuine International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number will be dead from the midnight of November 30 when the deadline given by the government to operators to block calls to such devices expires.
So it is the end for cheap mobile handsets, most of them Chinese, which do not have the unique IMEI number. Many subscribers who purchased such mobiles without knowing about the clause will have no option but to discard their handsets.
Though the Genuine IMEI Implantation programme was introduced months ago to install identity number on devices without this number, many users are yet to avail the facility.
“I bought this handset for Rs 2,900 two months ago and it has all facilities that a high-end set has.
But there is no IMEI number and no one told me about the rule. I hope they will extend the deadline,” says Sadhique who runs a provision shop at Edappally.
Over the past few weeks owners of Chinese handsets have been crowding cell phone shops to get the number. Though the installation programme is in full swing, many feel that it won’t be complete before the deadline ends. The main problem is that not many shops in the city are authorised to provide the installation. For instance, there is only one licensed agency in the GCDA Complex. And there was a last minute rush at the shop on Monday.
“Most of the people who have been duped with these fake Chinese mobile phones belong to the lower income group, especially daily wage workers from other parts of the country. But the sale has come down because many shopkeepers in and around the city have stopped selling Chinese mobiles,” says A M Niaz of Sif Mobiles at the GCDA Complex. Subscribers are confused as not many know what will happen on Monday even though much publicity was given about the issue in the past couple of months.
“What will happen to the handsets after the deadline is past? Are we supposed to throw them out?” asks Sithara, a housewife who learnt about the deadline only on Sunday.
The 15-digit IMEI number is important because it helps security agencies trace calls made from and received on handsets. It gained relevance in the wake of the recent terror attacks and the Department of Telecom issued orders to stop service to the handsets without IMEI number after November 30.
It is estimated that lakhs of such phones are used by subscribers across the country.
kochi@expressbuzz.com