India to Shut Off 25 Mil. Mobiles In January

It could be the start of a bad year for a lot of mobile phone users. Reports are stating that within the first week of January about 25 million mobile phones could be rendered un-usable due to a security issue. The department of telecom (DoT) has told all network providers in the country to disconnect all handsets which do not have an IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number.

This has been the works for awhile now due to the vast array of fakes and Chinese mobile handsets that have flooded the market in the recent months. Many of these handsets do not have IMEI numbers and considering the very recent bombings and terror attacks in the country, the government had decided that a serious clamp down is necessary.

In case you're not very sure, an IMEI number is a 15 digit code that you’ll find underneath your mobile phone battery. The number is a technically a tracking system for mobile operators to know about the calls being made from the handset. This number will flash on their systems to derive further information for billing, security etc.

The same reports also state that the date that this 'shut down' system would fall into place would be January 6th 2009, which is not too far away. So if you happen to be using a fake handset or one of the Chinese varieties, you might want to take a quick peek underneath your battery to look for the number or enter *#06# from your keypad.