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Industry takes lead to halt mobile phone theft
April 07, 2004;
Commandment #8 : You shall not steal. Particularly DON'T STEAL CELL PHONES!

GSMA and leading manufacturers agree steps to block stolen phones

The GSM Association (GSMA) and leading manufacturers including Alcatel, Motorola, NEC, Nokia, Panasonic, Sagem, Siemens and Sony Ericsson announce agreement on measures to drastically reduce the theft of mobile phones in the world.

The GSM Association, the global trade association for mobile operators, together with the world’s leading mobile phone manufacturers have established a series of comprehensive measures to enhance the integrity of handset identities (IMEI – International Mobile Equipment Identity). As a result, the effectiveness of Equipment Identity Registers (EIR) currently in use to disable further use of phones once reported stolen, will be greatly improved.

In parallel with today’s announcement, the GSM Association is undertaking a concerted drive to extend and enhance the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR), its global database register of stolen phones, so that GSM mobile operators can work together to prevent the reuse of stolen phones. Previous to this agreement, the potential impact of the Association’s database was compromised by security weaknesses in some handsets.

“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, CEO of the GSM Association. “We would like to see a more comprehensive approach that includes additional government-led action, such as we have seen in the UK.”

Mobile operators welcomed today’s agreement:

"O2 is wholeheartedly behind the industry drive to eliminate mobile theft and protect our customers," said Dave McGlade, CEO of O2, UK and a member of the GSMA Board. "By working closely together in the UK, operators have barred some 1.2 million handsets through connection to the central register of stolen phones. Today’s cross-industry agreement with manufacturers to secure mobile phone identities is a major boost to this collective effort, multiplying the value and effectiveness of a global database.”

"The Vodafone Group is fully supportive of the industry's efforts to combat mobile phone theft," said Alan Harper, Strategy Director, Vodafone Group and member of the GSMA Board. "We have committed to connecting to the GSMA's global database of stolen phones on a group-wide basis, and we believe today's agreement by manufacturers to secure the integrity of handset identities is a tangible and important step toward ensuring that the efforts of all operators are fully effective."

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