[ad_1]
Mobile phones with illegally imported or counterfeit International Mobile Equipment Identification Numbers (IMEI) will no longer be usable from the beginning of next year. Because the national telecommunications regulator is going to use a technology that will stop the service of the SIM cards of these phones.
The Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has been working on the technology for years to curb illegal imports and customs evasion.
Zakir Hossain Khan, Senior Deputy Director of BTRC (Media) said: “The government had delivered that message before. It was supposed to launch in October of this year. However, it is being delayed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
He added: “The bidding process for software development is almost over. It will be implemented early next year.
Telecom Watchdog had issued a public notice in July of last year. Customers are then asked to verify if the IMEI number of the mobile device is registered with BTRC.
According to BTRC, 116.22 million IMEI numbers have been added to a database in the last three years with data from Bangladesh phone importers, operators and mobile phone manufacturers.
According to the regulatory body, if an IMEI is not registered, it is false and has been illegally entered into the country.
Anyone can find their phone’s IMEI number on their mobile phone screen by dialing * # 08 #.
To find out if you are registered, go to the mobile phone’s message option, enter the 15-digit IMEI number from the KYD space and text to 16002.
On January 22 of last year, BTRC launched the online database of mobile phones. Since then, all legally mounted and imported phones are being recorded in their database.
According to BTRC officials, about 30 percent of the 100 million mobile phones currently in use in Bangladesh have been imported illegally.
