NEIR to Curb Cloning, Crime, and Counterfeit Handsets

Ensuring the use of legal and safe mobile handsets, the National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR) is not a luxury but a necessity.

This is because nearly 2 million out of the 2.1 million iPhones in the country enter Bangladesh through illegal channels. Of the 2.3 million locally manufactured handsets, 60 percent are feature phones. Furthermore, more than one million phones are connected to a single IMEI number on various networks. Criminals frequently use such devices to commit mobile financial service (MFS) fraud and other illegal activities.

To safeguard citizens and protect consumer rights, NEIR is being introduced as a regulatory tool on 16 December.

Speakers made these remarks at a seminar organized by TRNB on Thursday, 27 November in Dhaka, highlighting the necessity of NEIR.

In a presentation at the event, BTRC Director General Aminul Haque stated that all handsets used prior to NEIR’s launch will be deemed valid. After the launch, users will be able to deregister phones during device changes using USSD by entering the last four digits of the SIM card. Customers will also have the opportunity to legalize grey-market phones within one month. He urged users to activate the SIM of unused devices before 16 December and verify the IMEI number by sending it to 16002 before purchasing a new phone.

The NEIR software includes features allowing grey-market phones in circulation to be regularized at any time.

The seminar began with welcome remarks from TRNB Organizational Secretary Al Amin Dewan.

Chaired by Samir Kumar De, the event was attended by BTRC Commissioner Mahmud Hossain; NBR First Secretary Roich Uddin Khan; Additional DIG for Cyber police Center of Bangladesh Police; MIOB President Jakaria Shahid; Mobile Phone Distributor Association President Abdullah Al Harun Raju; Managing Director of Smart Technologies Mohammad Zahirul Islam; Synesis IT’s CSO Aminul Bari Saurav; and Nagad’s VP Mohammad Zahidul Islam.

Md. Zahidul Islam noted that stolen or snatched phones from Bangladesh are trafficked to India through Akhaura, Botuli, Benapole, and Darshana, while stolen Indian phones arrive in Bangladesh. He added that the secondary market is expanding due to refurbished phones assembled using old handset components, making it increasingly difficult to recover lost devices.

Speakers emphasized reducing taxes to make brand-new mobile phones more affordable.

DBTech/IH/OR