JEDDAH, 3 February 2007 — The Kingdom’s telecom regulator has instructed both Saudi Telecom Co. and Mobily to install systems such as Equipment Identification Registers (EIR) and International Mobile Equipment Identifier (IMEI) as part of efforts to prevent growing stealing of mobile phones in the country. “We have set up a specialized team to find ideal technical solutions to deal with the problem of stealing mobile phones,” said Muhammed Al-Suwaiyel, governor of Communication and Information Technology Commission (CITC).
He said the CITC has instructed both GSM service providers to install IMEI, a unique 15-digit number that serves as the serial number of the GSM handset. The IMEI appears on the label located on the back of the phone. To check your mobile phone’s serial number, key in the following on your phone: star-hash-zero-six-hash (*#06#) and a fifteen digit code will appear on the screen. This is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it safe. Should your mobile phone get stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset, so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless.
