Govt makes phones’ IMEI registration mandatory from Wednesday

KATHMANDU, April 12: In a bid to meet national and consumer security requirements, make bogus handsets inoperable, enable tracking of mobile handsets, and control flourishing grey market of mobile phones, the government is making mobile phone registration mandatory from Wednesday.

All importers should register their mobile phones and tablet PCs with Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) from Wednesday itself. Similarly, they will have to register mobile phones, which are already in use, within six months. Importers will have to register International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number or Electronic Serial Number (ESN) or Mobile Equipment Identifier (MEID) of every handset with NTA.Officials say it will help the government to track mobile phones that have entered the market through unofficial channel and block them with the help of operators.

NTA recently introduced 'Interim Directives for the Implementation of National Equipment Identity Registry (NEIR)-2072' to implement Equipment Identity Register (EIR) system in Nepal. The directive will come into effect from Wednesday.

"The interim directive aims to meet the requirements for the national and consumer security by helping to identify genuine mobile handsets and make fake handsets inoperable in Nepal," NTA Spokesperson Min Prasad Aryal told Republica, adding: "By enabling tracking and blocking of mobile phones that have entered the market through grey market, this directive encourages traders to import and sell genuine mobile handsets only."

"Once IMEI number of all legally imported mobile phones is registered with us, we can track other phones that have entered the market through illegal channel and make them inoperable," Aryal added.

According to Aryal, NTA, after six months, will send a warning message to all mobile phones whose IMEI number has not been registered with it and make them inoperable if the owner doesn't register IMEI accordingly.

People, who have brought mobile handsets from other countries after completing due customs procedure, will have to register IMEI/ESN/MEID of their handsets with NTA. Similarly, one can track and block his/her lost or stolen phone by registering application at NTA. Persons using international roaming services through SIM-card belonging to a foreign mobile operator, however, will not have to register IMEI of their phones in Nepal.

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