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Work item:
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Q.GIR
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Subject/title:
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Technical requirement and implementation strategy for Global International Mobile Equipment Identity Registry
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Status:
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Under study [Issued from previous study period]
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Approval process:
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TAP
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Type of work item:
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Recommendation
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Version:
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New
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Equivalent number:
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-
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Timing:
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2026-Q1 (Medium priority)
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Liaison:
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ITU-T SG2, SG17, ITU-D SG 2 (Q4/2)
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Supporting members:
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C-DOT, India, Ghana, Nigeria, Indonesia, Bhutan, Senegal, Burundi, Benin, South Africa, Central Africa Republic.
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Summary:
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The growing usage of information and communications technology (ICT) equipment in people's daily lives has also brought several unwelcome side effects related to the increase in the sale, circulation and use of counterfeit ICT devices in the market.
As described in Recommendation ITU-T Q.5050 (Framework for solutions to combat counterfeit ICT devices), this has resulted in adverse consequences for multiple stakeholders such as users, network operators, genuine device manufacturers, traders and governments, including decreased security protection and quality of service for users and revenue losses to a range of stakeholders.
Clause 10.1 of ITU-T Q.5050 refers to “Prohibit the use of invalid and non-genuine device identifiers”.
As the issue of international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) re-programming is still a major concern in combating counterfeiting ICT devices, clause 9.3 of ITU-T Q.5050 on reliable unique identifiers indicates that genuine ICT devices are required to have unique and persistent identifiers that "are secure, in the sense that they cannot be changed by unauthorized entities, are unique to each equipment and have been assigned by the authorized assigner". This implies that in order to reduce IMEI re-programming, it is required to identify that the IMEI has been re-programmed.
When an IMEI has been re-programmed, the newly implanted IMEI will be either random i.e. an invalid IMEI, a non-genuine IMEI, a duplicate/already used IMEI or an IMEI which is valid but not manufactured by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). Invalid or non-genuine IMEIs could be detected using the mobile network operator (MNO) equipment identity register (EIR) by checking the IMEI format and matching with type allocation code (TAC) information allocated by the GSM Association (GSMA). Even IMEIs that have been used can be checked by means of the central equipment identity register (CEIR). But to finding out if an IMEI has not been manufactured by the OEM can only be done through the IMEI registry. The IMEI registry contains the list of IMEIs that have been manufactured by the mobile manufacturers and issued for sale in the market. Some countries may already have implemented a national IMEI registry, but the issue persists for mobile devices that are imported from other countries. This justifies the requirement for a the Global IMEI registry. Participating countries will share IMEI produced in their country to help all other countries identify counterfeit mobile devices. Clause 10.2 of ITU-T Q.5050 also refers to the certification of ICT devices to assist all stakeholders and guarantee the authenticity of the products. Another possible solution could be to deploy a device lifecycle management system based on these unique identifiers capable of tracking ICT devices from the beginning of the manufacture process (including component origin, transportation and retail store where it will be sold) until it is delivered to the end-user. This could easily be implemented through a global IMEI registry.
ITU-T Q.5051 recommends having the support of an applicable national legal and regulatory framework before implementing any restrictive actions against stolen devices with tampered and duplicate unique identifiers.
Clause 7.5 of Recommendation ITU-T Q.5052 calls for duplicate IMEI detection across countries. However, this is related to IMEIs that are already in use by subscribers. It does not include IMEIs that have been manufactured but not used in the network.
WTSA Resolution 96 [b-Resolution 96] resolves that ITU-T should "consider solutions to be used to differentiate between authentic/genuine and counterfeit or tampered telecommunication/ICT devices, e.g. establishing a centralized national reference database of authorized equipment.
WTSA Resolution 97 [b-Resolution 97] resolves that "ITU-T should, in collaboration with the relevant standards organizations, develop solutions to address the problem of duplication of unique identifiers". A global IMEI registry will assist to resolve the problems such as IMEI cloning and duplication due to IMEI re-programming.
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Comment:
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-
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Reference(s):
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Historic references:
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Contact(s):
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First registration in the WP:
2023-10-26 16:41:50
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Last update:
2025-12-02 13:16:37
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