As per data shared on the Sanchar Saathi portal, mobile phone users blocked 541,428 mobile phones and traced 255,882 lost devices using the central equipment identity register (CEIR) portal in less than a month after its launch. The lost or stolen phone market is estimated to be worth around Rs 120 billion with over 50,000 devices being lost or stolen every month.
CEIR is an artificial intelligence (AI)-based portal launched by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in May 2023 to check authenticity of mobile connections and blocking lost or stolen phones. The portal enables users to block a device’s unique identification number (IMEI), which makes the phone unusable, even with a new SIM.
According to industry executives, a phone that can not be used will have a zero resale value. The DoT stated that if the status of a mobile phone is shown as blacklisted, duplicate or something similar, the users should refrain from buying that device.
