Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) Portal:
Telangana has emerged as the top-performing state in India for recovering stolen and lost mobile phones through the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) portal.
- It was developed by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications, to track lost or stolen mobile phones.
- It acts as a central database of all the mobile phones that are used and registered in India. It contains all the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) or Electronic Serial Number (ESN).
- IMEI is a 15-digit unique number attached to all the handsets. These numbers are attached to the registered service provider.
- The user can track the devices by providing the required information requested on the portal along with the IMEI and FIR copy.
- The CEIR shares a wide platform that supports all the network operators.
- It helps to receive information on the blacklisted mobile devices from the registered network to notify other networks.
- This helps to track the device even if the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) has changed.
- The following are the types of lists in the EIR database:
- White List: It contains all the authorised IMEI numbers that are allowed to access the network.
- Grey List: It contains all the authorised IMEI numbers that are kept for observation to track the number.
- Black List: It contains all the unauthorised IMEI numbers that are prohibited from registration in a cellular network.
- Objectives of CEIR:
- Discourage mobile theft, identify fraudulent mobile markets, and protect consumer interest.
- To centralise the database for identifying and blocking the lost, stolen, or illegal mobile phones/networks.
- To track the lost or stolen mobile phones through IMEI numbers even if the SIM cards are changed or disabled.
- Create an infrastructure to provide the services to track the mobile devices.
- Create an infrastructure to access GSMA’s database to check the authentication of the mobile device.
- To identify duplicate IMEI numbers, cloned, reprogrammed, stolen or unauthorised devices.
