Under control: Ministry of IT wants people to “willingly” register their phones and all devices with GSM module at IMEI Registration Centers

Ministry of IT Development presented a draft governmental decree, which plans to oblige the population to register not only their mobile devices, but also devices with a GSM module, Kun.uz correspondent reports.

All imported, sold, manufactured mobile phones (for example, telephones, smartphones) and devices with a mobile communication module (for example, laptops, tablets, modems, ATMs, info-kiosks, smart watches, telemetry devices, security systems, smart home) will have to be registered in accordance with the draft governmental decree.

The registration of devices will be handled by the IMEI Registration Center (system operator). It will be accountable to the Ministry of IT.

Registration Procedure

Registration of mobile devices will be carried out in any of the following ways:

•  submission of an application at the personal request of the owner of the mobile device or its representative to the system operator;

•  submission of the application by the owner of the mobile device or its representative to the regional registration point for mobile devices;

•  submission of an application through the Unified portal of interactive state services (hereinafter – UPISS);

•  submission of an application through the system operator’s website.

To register mobile devices, individuals will have to submit an application form and a passport copy (only upon personal appeal).

Registration of imported mobile devices will be carried out on a fee basis. An individual will have to pay for one device 10% of the minimum monthly wage (20,273 soums in accordance with the current MMW), a legal entity - 5% of the MMW.

All mobile devices operating at the time of launch of the system are registered free of charge. When registering mobile devices with two IMEI codes, payment is made only for one IMEI code.

After entering the system in the country, there will be three lists of devices – “white”, “black” and “gray”.

The “white” is a list of IMEI codes of mobile devices registered as required. The provision of mobile services through mobile devices listed in the “white” is carried out without restrictions in the prescribed manner.

The “black” is a list of IMEI codes of mobile devices not registered according to the requirements, marked as lost or stolen, as well as not corresponding to the GSMA Association database. The provision of mobile services through mobile devices on the black list is limited.

The “gray” is a list of IMEI codes of mobile devices, which temporarily cannot be attributed to the “white” or “black” lists. The system operator creates a “gray” list based on information received from mobile network operators.

Provision of mobile services to mobile devices listed in the gray list will not be limited to 30 calendar days from the moment of its activation in mobile networks. Owners of mobile devices on the gray list will need to register mobile devices within 30 days of the date they are listed.

Devices from the gray list that are not registered in the white list after the 30-day period will be transferred to the black list.

Interestingly, an individual will be able to register only one mobile device for personal use within six months. In this case, registration of IMEI codes of mobile devices by persons under the age of sixteen is not allowed.