TRAI to request the Ministry of Commerce to prohibit the import of handsets with unauthentic IMEI

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is considering requesting the Ministry of Commerce to prohibit the import of handsets with unauthentic international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) number.

Instead, TRAI is planning to suggest to the Ministry of Commerce to permit the import of phones which are certified by the GSMA Association and the Telecommunications Industry Association. These provide IMEI numbers for GSM and CDMA handsets respectively.

This is the second time that this issue has taken centrestage. Prior to this, the government had restricted the import of mobile phones without IMEI numbers in 2009. TRAI is of the view that stricter import norms will check the proliferation of mobile handsets with duplicate or cloned IMEI numbers, which pose a potential threat to national security.