According to recent statistics, there are more than 5 billion mobile connections in the world, and each device comes with a unique identity number, which is the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number.
In Africa, about 10-20 percent of mobile phones entering the African networks are counterfeited or cloned. According to Mobilethink, the end of 2020 will witness more than 52 million fake smartphones in Africa alone. The worrying aspect is that mobile devices with duplicate IMEI numbers cannot be tracked and thus pose a great threat to national security. In order to monetize and cut costs, OEMs indulge in the production of mobile devices, replicating the same IMEI number for more than one phone, thus contributing to the surge in the number of fake devices. This has induced a great amount of turmoil for the network operators to identify counterfeit and block the original IMEI number in case of theft leading to criminal incidents or misuse.
To combat the same, implementation of a Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR), which is an EIR database will help. The database integrates IMEI numbers of EIR records of all the networks, and verifies the authenticity of the device, giving buyers the benefit of verifying the same at the time of purchase. The first to register with an IMEI number under the CEIR will be authenticated and the rest will be rejected, thus avoiding any further duplication and misuse.
Contrastingly, under CEIR, if and when a blacklisted IMEI number is added to the same database, the device becomes unresponsive for calls or any connectivity from any network provider, thus discouraging thefts and curbing down the number of counterfeit handsets. CEIR potentially drives the protection of customer interest and makes way for law enforcement authorities to enable lawful interception.
Implementing CEIR on a national scale would help in bolstering national security and making the process more stringent where data is shared between the Government and the Operators. Operators are now vouching for a legislation in place to thwart the duplicity or reprogramming of IMEI numbers which will bring more meaning to the setting up of a CEIR database. CEIR will also enable network operators to identify mobile devices with duplicate IMEI numbers as it will have all the repository of the originally registered owners.
6d Technologies’ very own unique Central Equipment Identity Register System (CEIR) is a platform that helps operators/regulatory bodies & organizations host a central database of IMEI details and all the records of the mobile devices in the network. 6d’s CEIR is also a productive, farsighted and a flexible solution that can be easily deployed at the client’s disposal. The solution is extremely scalable as it helps to roll out and promote existing and new services based on the different devices present in the database.
6d’s CEIR benefits
- Reduces the grey market for stolen and forged mobiles phones
- Blocks stolen devices across every single network, helps reduce thefts and criminal incidents
- Creation of a centralized system of device information promoting easy validation of all devices across networks
- Creates a sense of care for the subscribers and averts them from theft and fraud consequences
- Brings in brand loyalty among your subscribers for being morally and socially responsible
6d Technologies is associated with GSMA in the CEIR projects to bring security across borders. GSMA provides database at international levels while 6d brings in the CEIR database for various countries. Operators belonging to specific countries update the CEIR database and receive updated data from CEIR. The government bodies can access the same with the valid TAC allocated to each country by GSMA. This association takes the security of every user to the next level and protects their personal interest intentionally.
A push to integrate CEIR from a National level to a global level is underway which means that there is more of an authoritative and stricter workflow to identify and eliminate devices with fake numbers.