New TRC project to detect stolen, counterfeit mobile phones

AMMAN — The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) will soon start implementing a project to detect stolen and counterfeit mobile phones 

The TRC contracted a specialised company to design and implement the Central Mobile Equipment Identify Register (CMEIR) system, TRC Chief Commissioner Mohammad Taani said in a recent e-mail interview with The Jordan Times. 

The project seeks to protect stakeholders — mobile users, vendors and operators — from the theft of mobile phones, which is not only a financial loss but also poses a threat to personal data, the TRC official said. 

It also aims to protect the interests of beneficiaries in the market from counterfeit mobile phones, which are illegal copies of popular brands and models, to ensure service quality as such phones can overload mobile networks, he added. 

The new system will prevent the import of low-quality mobile devices of unknown origin, Taani noted. 

Stressing the importance of the project, he said it also seeks to protect the interests of the commercial sector in the telecom market from unfair competition by preventing the entry of illegal mobile terminals.

Taani added that the system has already been supplied to the TRC, with the basic setup and configurations completed, and technical meetings were conducted between the operators, TRC and the supplier to discuss the connection between the CMEIR system and local networks. 

According to TRC figures, mobile penetration in Jordan reached 147 per cent at the end of the third quarter of 2014, increasing by 1 per cent from the end of June 2014. 

There were 11 million active mobile subscriptions at the end of the third quarter of third quarter of 2014.