Baku, Azerbaijan, July 22
By Emil Ilgar – Trend:
Iran has started registering mobile phones to curb their smuggling.
The mobile devices, the IMEI numbers of which are not registered in the Industry, Mine and Trade Ministry’s database, will not be usable anymore, Fars reported July 22.
The IMEI, or the International Mobile Station Equipment Identity, is a number, usually unique, to identify mobile phones, as well as some satellite phones.
The IMEI number is used by a GSM network to identify valid devices, and therefore, can be, for example, used for stopping a stolen phone from accessing that network.
According to the report, the mobile devices that have been smuggled into Iran before July 22 will be registered, but after that date, the new phones illegally imported to the country will not be registered.
About 10 million mobile devices are smuggled into Iran every year, according to official statistics.