FCC, carriers announce plan to remotely disable stolen mobile phones
1,485 views · Published 11 April 2012 · 0:39 · Indexed 8 November 2026
Channel: News Direct · 2012 · Science & Technology
Major mobile-phone carriers and the FCC have announced plans for a central database they hope will deter mobile-phone theft. Under the plan, the carriers will be responsible for submitting unique identifying numbers for the mobile phones of their customers. For GSM phones, this unique identifying number is called an IMEI. CDMA phones have a similar number called a MEID. When a phone is reported stolen, carriers can "blacklist" the IMEI or MEID, rendering the unique identifying number invalid. What this means is the mobile-phone is unable to access cellular networks and thus is useless to thieves. At the moment, carriers typically disable a customer's SIM card when a phone is reported stolen. However, the phone remains operational with the replacement of the SIM card. Source: Reuters
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