The IMEI Blocking Rules For Cellphones Are Delayed Again, What's Up?

Illustration (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - The rules for blocking the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) on Black Market (BM) phones scheduled for August 31 are likely to be delayed again.

This was confirmed by the Secretary General of the Indonesian Telecommunications Operators Association (ATSI), Marwan Baasir, who revealed that there were technical problems that had not yet been resolved.

"It may still be delayed because there are a number of technical matters that have not been completed," said Marwan, when confirmed by VOI, Monday, August 31.

The technical problem that Marwan referred to is the data merging process. He said that all data, both data on cellular operators and data on Imported Product Registration (TPP) and Production TPP, must be combined before the regulation is applied.

Contacted separately, the Chairman of the ATSI Supervisory Board Muhammad Buldansyah was reluctant to respond to the delay in the IMEI rules, as well as when asked how to question the preparation of the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) system.

"We have not received any news from the government. Try to ask the government directly such as the Ministry of Industry and Communication and Information Technology," said the man who is familiarly called Danny.

The VOI team has tried to contact the Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) and the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (Kemenkominfo), but has not received a response until this news is published. As is known, the regulation on blocking BM cell phones through IMEI was made by involving three ministries including customs and cellular operators.

So a cellphone whose IMEI number is not registered in the Ministry of Industry database will not be able to connect to the cellular network so that it cannot be used. For the IMEI regulation, it was actually effective in April, but the implementation of when this rule will take place has not yet been carried out.