CANNES, France- The GSM Association and manufacturers-including Alcatel, Motorola, NEC, Nokia, Panasonic, Sagem, Siemens and Sony Ericsson-announced a new strategy to reduce the theft of mobile phones at this week’s 3GSM World Congress.
The GSMA and the mobile-phone manufacturers have established a series of measures to enhance the integrity of handset identities, known as International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI). IMEI will improve the effectiveness of the currently used Equipment Identity Registers (EIR), according to the GSMA.
In addition, the GSMA plans to extend and enhance the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR), and its global database register of stolen phones, so GSM mobile operators can work together to prevent the reuse of stolen phones.
“This commitment by manufacturers, together with the continued extension of the GSMA’s handset database are critical elements in tackling the problem of handset theft, but they are only part of the overall solution,” said Rob Conway, chief executive officer of the GSMA. “We would like to see a more comprehensive approach that includes additional government-led action, such as we have seen in the UK.”
