Airwide Solutions make a grab for mobile phone security contracts in India

Rating: Mobile messaging and infrastructure provider attempts to gain advantage from new laws

I really feel for the Indian Department of Telecommunications. It can’t be easy, trying to manage the worlds biggest boom market in mobile phones. So it’s not really surprising that it recently announced new laws to increase security against mobile phone fraud. What did surprise me was the company who are trying to implement it.

So, who are these Airwide people?

Up until recently, MMA award winner Airwide Solutions was mainly known as an imaginative operator in SMS. Now it seems to be making good on its claim to us earlier this year that it’s operations are much broader than that. Airwide has never hidden that it covers wireless internet infrastructure, applications and solutions, but they’ve never had this high profile a canvas before.

What are they doing for the DoT?

The Department of Telecommunications have informed service providers operating in India that they are to ban any calls that come from devices without a proper International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number. This will hugely cut down the amount of mobile phone fraud, particularly in the face of large numbers of counterfeit or blackmarket handsets from China. The DoT has also told providers that they have only three months to enforce this ban.

Airwide are offering their Equipment Identity Register (EIR) technology, AirGuard EIR, as the solution to this problem. They also claim that they can get this system up and running for anyone inside the three month deadline.

From the Press Release

“There is a reason that AirGuard EIR is the world’s leading Equipment Identity Register, and our experience in some of the most demanding operator environments will be invaluable in helping operators in India quickly comply with the Indian DOT’s mandate,” said Mark Thong, Regional Vice President for Airwide Solutions.  “Airwide has well over a decade’s worth of experience with EIR technology and long term relationships with global channel partners – together we can streamline the process of helping operators get up and running in compliance with government specifications quickly and seamlessly.”

What we think?

Here’s a company with a serious work ethic. Earlier this year it won the MMA award for Innovation in Mobile Advertising. It’s made SMS sexier, and now it’s working on making India more secure. I genuinely can’t wait to see what it tries next! Of course, a lot depends on whether the security protocols can handle an entire country’s worth of data. Managing these kind of solutions for companies is one thing… doing it for the fastest growing mobile market in the world is a different thing entirely. This is definitely something worth keeping an eye on.

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