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PTA Blocked 175,000 Stolen Mobiles Using DIRBS In 2022

DIRBS discovered and blocked 5.28 million MSISDN numbers used by 0.88 million cloned IMEIs and 29.56 million duplicate IMEIs.

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) is taken the initiative and successfully blocked 175,000 devices using the Device Identification Registration and Blocking Systems (DIRBS)

PTA established a system to identify and block duplicate or cloned IMEIs numbers, which has also led to the cleaning of the local market of fake and standard handsets. Including smuggled mobiles and non-GSMA-approved handsets on the network.

According to the report, DIRBS has identified and blocked 29.56 million IMEIS. In addition, it has also blocked 0.88 million cloned IMEIs used against 5.28 million MSISDN numbers.

The initiative will help to establish a new eco-mobile system in Pakistan. Though, with the emergence of the local handset manufacturing industry, job creation investments by global mobile manufacturers. Moreover, it will also help increase government revenue and 100% registration of handsets across all cellular networks of Pakistan.

PTA is also putting in its efforts to strengthen the system. PTA has issued the MDM regulations 2021. This will allow companies to obtain MDM authorizations for almost ten years.
Up to 30 authorizations so far have been granted with local brands like Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Samsung, Nokia, and Infinix reviving authorizations.

Moreover, it has resulted in the manufacturing high-tech smartphones in almost 30 local plants in Pakistan. In addition, it will not only help the local market consumption but also for export purposes.

According to the analysis, in just nine months, from January to September, Pakistan manufactured a whooping 7.24 million smartphones. The initiative helped in boosting the economic sector by providing almost 26,000 jobs.
In addition, it also helped to decline in the import volume of CBU phones in 2021.

According to the analysis collected in the last five months, CBU imports dropped further amid a significant shift towards locally manufactured mobile phones.

Alas, using DIRBs, PTA has been able to combat the problem of stolen and illegally modified mobile devices. This has shown a positive effect on the local mobile ecosystem regarding job creation, increased tax revenue, and a shift towards locally made mobile phones.