India continues the battle against illegal mobile activity

India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade today announced that is banning certain mobile phones from entering the country. Any device lacking a 15-digit IMEI code is banned from being imported.

The IMEI code is the International Mobile Equipment Identity code - it allows operators to track the device whenever it makes a call across the network.

What we think?

Following the terrorist action in Mumbai last year, where devices without IMEIs were used, India has decided that the devices represent a security threat. However according to BT Cellnet, IMEI are not infallible - they can be programmed into stolen handsets, and 10% of IMEIs are not unique.