Where there is supposed to be one mobile handset against one IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number, there are 1 million in Bangladesh.
This sensational information about the manipulation of the handset business was given by Brigadier General Md. Aminul Haque, Director General of the Spectrum Division of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), at a seminar in Dhaka on Thursday.
He said that about 5 million handsets have been found against just 5 IMEI numbers in Bangladesh. That is, there are about 1 million mobile handsets against one IMEI.
IMEI is a unique code of 15 digits, which is used to identify each mobile phone. It is used to track the phone if it is stolen, verify its validity and register it with the network.
Aminul Haque said that illegal phones are released in the country’s market by cloning (faking) IMEI. When the NEIR (National Equipment Identity Register) was considered in 2018, the situation would not have become so complicated if it had been implemented at that time. In many cases, financial crimes using mobile phones are related to clone handsets. These clone handsets should be banned for security reasons.
Telecom and Technology Reporters Network Bangladesh (TRNB) organized this seminar titled ‘Importance of NEIR in using legal and safe handsets’ at Rawa Complex in the capital.
TRNB Organizing Secretary Al Amin Dewan delivered the welcome speech at the seminar moderated by TRNB President Sameer Kumar.
Citing BTRC information, he said that according to the calculations of a few months ago, the number of iPhones activated in the networks of the country’s four mobile phone operators was 1.976 million. Of these, 19.55 million phones are not registered in the BTRC’s Knock Automation and IMEI Database (NAID) system as coming from a legitimate importer or through a legitimate route, meaning they are illegal.
According to the latest estimate, it could be close to 2.1 million, said Al Amin Dewan. He said that 23.129 million Samsung brand mobile handsets are active on the networks of the country’s four mobile phone operators. Out of these, 14.926 million have been identified as illegal by the BTRC.
However, the ratio of legal to illegal in the country is currently the same as before.
BTRC Commissioner Mahmud Hossain assured that these phones will not be shut down when the NEIR is launched on December 16. He said that the phones that will be used on the network before December 16 will be automatically registered and will remain active.
Stating that the BTRC is vigilant to ensure that the price of mobile phones in the country does not increase if the NEIR is introduced, he said that the market price of any smartphone in the market is being monitored. So that no one can increase the price of the handset in the future.
At the seminar, Additional DIG of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the police, Zahidul Islam, said that the mobile sets stolen or snatched in the country are being taken to India via the Akhaura, Batuli, Benapole and Darshana borders. And the stolen phones from India come to Bangladesh. In addition, the market for second-hand phones using old phone parts has increased. This makes it difficult to recover the lost sets.
First Secretary of the National Board of Revenue, Md. Raich Uddin Khan, said that in the case of ordinary passengers, earlier, a new phone could be brought in free of duty every time they came to the country from abroad. Currently, this rule has changed. A new phone is being brought in free of duty once a year when they come to the country from abroad.
Mobile Phone Industrial Owners of Bangladesh (MIOB) President Zakaria Shahid said that except for a few brands like iPhone and Motorola, almost all mobile handset brands have factories in Bangladesh. If demand increases, then perhaps iPhone will also be forced to set up factories in Bangladesh. He expressed hope that then the price of iPhone in the domestic market will also come down.
The seminar was also attended by Abdullah Al Harun Raju, Secretary General of Mobile Phone Distributors Association, Zahirul Islam, Managing Director of Smart Technologies, Aminul Bari Sourav, CSO (Chief Solutions Officer) of Synesis IT, and Zahidul Islam Sajal, Vice President of Nagad, among others.
