Stolen or lost mobile phones will be blocked across all GSM networks in Australia from September 15, the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Authority has announced.

The country's mobile operators, Optus, Telstra and Vodafone, will use an anti-theft technology that works by detecting a mobile phone's electronic serial number--the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number--which will then be shared among operators to block the identified phone from all GSM networks.

Although each mobile operator had blocked lost and stolen phones by identifying the IMEI number, until now they only blocked the handset on their own network. So a phone stolen from a Vodafone customer could be used on the Telstra network, for example.

The AU$7 million industry wide solution will render lost and stolen mobile phones useless as they cannot be connected to any network in Australia, said a statement from Australian telco Telstra.

However, the IMEI block can be easily removed if the handset is recovered, AMTA Chief Executive Officer Graham Chalker said in the AMTA report.

AMTA will use a messaging platform--dubbed the Electronic Information Exchange (EIE)--to share information between service providers.

Also, law enforcement agencies will now be able to find out who has attempted to connect a lost or stolen mobile phone on any network. Anyone thinking about stealing or receiving a stolen phone will now have to think twice before getting it reconnected, Chalker said in the report.

Although inter-carrier IMEI blocking will make mobile phone theft less attractive, the onus is still on individual mobile phone owners to look after their phones and minimise the risk of them being stolen, Chalker said in the report.

-More than 100,000 mobile phones were reported lost or stolen in 2002 with more than 50 percent taken from cars. Therefore, never leave your mobile in the car and never put it down in a public place or leave it unattended," Chalker continued.

IMEI numbers are independent of the phone number and are usually written beneath the battery or on the back of the handset. Mobile phone users can also check their 15 digit IMEI number by dialing *#06# on their mobile handset. They should make a note of their IMEI number and keep the details in a safe place, said the report.

The inter-carrier IMEI blocking comes ahead of Commonwealth and State legislation to prohibit the modification of IMEIs.

Telstra was the first telco in the country to introduce IMEI blocking in August 2002. Australian telco Vodafone followed suit earlier this year.

Australia is only the second country in the world to have all the carriers implementing IMEI blocking, after the UK. Britain is also considering banning the tampering of IMEIs.

While such a law is hard to enforce, it will make those wishing to use stolen phones think twice, as punishments will be harsher for those caught using phones with tampered IMEIs. However, in the rest of the Asia-Pacific, trade in phones of uncertain origin is rampant as few operators enforce IMEI blocking.

The Philippines is one exception. On the National Telecommunications Commission Web site, it is possible to check for banned IMEI handsets. In Singapore, however, regulator Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) has been reluctant to implement the system.

"From the commercial perspective, phone tracking or blocking systems is costly, can cause network delays, and is technology-dependant," said Dulcie Chan, IDA spokesperson in a previous report on CNETAsia.

"This is compounded by administrative difficulties associated with fast churn of handsets prevalent in the consumer market and a relatively short economic lifespan of handsets today," Chan continued.

James Pearce contributed to this report

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