BSS, Dhaka
The much awaited National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR) is set to go live today (Thursday) as Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) will inaugurate the system to identify the unauthorized mobile handsets in the network.
“Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar will inaugurate the NEIR in a virtual ceremony tomorrow (Thursday) morning,” BTRC Deputy Director Md Zakir Hossain Khan told BSS Wednesday.
He said initially the NEIR will run in trial for three months and then the next course of action will be taken as per the decision of the government.
The NEIR will synchronize the data of the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number of the handsets, the number (MSISDN) of the SIM cards, and the biometric contacts of the customers with the SIM cards to stop the use of any fake or illegal handset in the mobile phone network.
The telecom regulator took this initiative much earlier, but is going to materialize it now to stop the illegal import of phones, mitigate the hazards of theft or cloning as well as prevent fraudulent activities along with ensuring customer’s security.
Officials familiar with the process said all mobile phones (smartphones/feature phones) currently active in the network have already registered automatically within June 30.
They said all mobile phones procured from the domestic market and brought from abroad from July 1 will be legalized and registered automatically through the verification of NEIR. So, the users do not need to do anything at present and any handset currently in use will not get blocked, they said.
One can verify the validity of their phones by dialing *16161#. They can also check the legal status of a phone by typing "KYD<space>15 digit IMEI number" and sending the message to 16002. A reply SMS will confirm the legitimacy of the handset.
In addition, customers can get this service at existing citizen portals and customer care centres of mobile phone operators by visiting the neir.btrc.gov.bd web link.
However, every customer from July 1 will require checking the legal status of a mobile phone before buying it and then need to preserve the receipt.
On the other hand, if anybody wants to sell a handset, they need to go to a customer care centre and deregister the IMEI numbers from their NIDs. And then the new buyers of the handsets will be able to register the handset in his/her name.
Officials said after July 1, if a handset is found invalid, the user will be communicated through SMS, and a three-month period will be given for registration.
The customer can register the mobile phone as valid by showing the purchase receipt or other documents. If the user fails to provide proof of the legality of their phone to the operators, no SIM will work in the phone after the given time, they added.
