U.S. Carriers Working On Centralized Database To Track Stolen Mobile Phones

The Wall Street Journal carries a report on the major four U.S. carriers working with the government to build a central database of stolen or lost mobile phones. This database would then be used by the authorities to disable and locate these mobile phones.

The government's intention is to reduce mobile phone thefts by denying lost or stolen phones voice and data services, making it hard to resell. Presently only two of the four major carriers, Verizon and Sprint, have such mechanisms in place. AT&T and T-Mobile are expected to join these two carriers by setting up similar facilities very soon.

From the WSJ article:

Wireless phones that have been reported stolen to the carrier will be listed in the database using unique serial numbers associated with mobile gadgets. The carriers will block listed phones from accessing carrier networks for voice and data service.

Carriers will roll out their own individual databases within six months. The individual databases will be integrated and centralized over the 12 months thereafter. Smaller, regional wireless carriers are expected to join the database over two years, according to a person familiar with the plan.

The report outlines the increasing number of mobile phone thefts, and the lucrative resale market. Police felt that the present measures weren't adequate, which is one of the reasons why FCC, on behalf of the government, started speaking to carriers regarding this database.

The FCC plans on making the database compatible with that of other countries, to tackle the problem of stolen phone that could be exported to foreign countries.

There are a few shortcomings though. A "disabled" phone could still connect to Wi-Fi networks, play music and do other activities that don't depend on the network, or its software could be modified to spoof the identity number, thus restoring service. However, despite these shortcomings, other countries have successfully used this method to bring down the number of mobile phone thefts.

While mobile phone manufacturers like Apple have introduced features like Find My iPhone that helps you find and protect data on your lost or stolen iPhone, it is not completely fool proof, so any step taken to plug the loop holes is good news from a customer point of view.