There are still a lot of people in the country who are using cellphones without an IMEI number. Connectivity to these cellphones was suposed to be blocked by telecom operators, as instructed by the authorities. DoT has now taken things more seriously by its decision of imposing a fine on a fortnightly basis on operators failing to do their duty.

Telcos were trying to find a way out of this, by providing a software which could generate the needed number for them. However, this has been strictly disallowed. Currently the new deadline, before which the operators are supposed to do the needful, has been set to 15th April.

If you are considering buying a cheap Chinese phone, well it is advisable to reconsider your plan. Department of Telecom (DoT) is planning to block cell phones which do not bear the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number. (Cheap Chinese phones do not have an IMEI number)

There are approximately 1.5 crore China-made and locally-assembled handsets in use that don’t have IMEI numbers. Even mobile phones that have all zeroes or no zero in their IMEI code will be barred. DoT decided to make this move after security agencies found that the mobile phones used by terrorists in the recent blasts did not have IMEI numbers.

Sales of Chinese handsets constitute about 13 per cent (or Rs 4,000 crore) of the Rs 30,000-crore annual mobile handset market in the country. IMEI numbers can be checked by dialing “*#06#” in any keypad.