Mobile & Wireless Forum has published a Case Study on Pakistan DIRBS that highlighted how the Implementation of DIRBS has addressed the issue of counterfeit, illegal and stolen mobile devices in a country and created a favorable situation for the establishment of local assembly plants for mobile device assembly that resulted in local job creation.
Implementation of DIRBS helped clean-up the local market of counterfeit devices, reduced the theft of mobile devices, ensured legitimate device importations as well as increased government revenue. It also helped to create additional local business opportunities without putting any adverse effect on subscriber growth or consumer choice.
Mobile & Wireless Forum has published a Case Study on Pakistan DIRBS that highlighted how the Implementation of DIRBS has addressed the issue of counterfeit, illegal and stolen mobile devices in a country and created a favorable situation for the establishment of local assembly plants for mobile device assembly that resulted in local job creation.
Implementation of DIRBS helped clean-up the local market of counterfeit devices, reduced the theft of mobile devices, ensured legitimate device importations as well as increased government revenue. It also helped to create additional local business opportunities without putting any adverse effect on subscriber growth or consumer choice.
However, the open market also supported the theft and resale of stolen mobile devices that became a significant problem in major cities. All these factors encouraged a growing market for counterfeit and stolen devices. This was the time when the regulator Pakistan Telecommunication Authority realized that there is requirement of a customized solution.
In the beginning of implementation of DIRBS, the operators were reluctant to corporate with government due to the fear that the blocking of existing non-compliant devices would be resulted in a decline of the subscriber base. However, with Central Asian Cellular Forum, MNOs, OEMs and implementation partners from the industry worked closely with PTA and assisted to draft a viable regulatory framework and the regulations required a technical solution to support various aspects of system implementation.
Before the implementation of DIRBS, PTA had decided to work on stakeholder’s awareness and acceptance of the system as it would be helpful for the successful implementation of DIRBS. For this purpose, PTA engaged in an extensive awareness campaign for all stakeholders via traditional print and television as well as online and social media.
PTA also run campaigns to inform Consumers about the deployment of the system and how the system would protect them and how they could check if a device was legitimate. For the assistance of consumers, PTA sent SMS messages to every mobile phone in the country encouraging them to check the status of their device. Consumers could likewise send an SMS to check the IMEI of their device or access the PTA website or use the specially developed Android App.
PTA also held Workshops for the stakeholders within the industry including OEM’s, Distributors, Retailers and Network Operators.