Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has announced that the handset registration or National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR) system will be launched on 16 December.
Brigadier General Md Aminul Haque, director general of Spectrum Division of the BTRC, disclosed the information at a seminar titled “Importance of NEIR for Using Legal and Safe Handsets” on Thursday.
He said mobile phones are currently being cloned indiscriminately in the country. Analysis of BTRC’s database has revealed that nearly 50 lakh handsets have been found in the market against only 5 IMEI numbers.
Aminul Haque further said, after verifying the illegal handsets in the possession of traders, the government will have the option to legalise the remaining sets, excluding cloned and refurbished phones, by collecting revenue.
Mobile sets manufactured by copying the IMEI number of a legal mobile phone are called clone phones. Refurbished phones are old handsets used abroad, which are brought into the country and sold as new.
How to verify if your mobile phone is legal
Verification method via SMS
- Step 1: First, dial *#06# on the mobile keypad. The phone’s IMEI number will appear on the screen.
- Step 2: Dial *16161# from the mobile phone.
- Step 3: When an automatic box appears, write the handset’s 15-digit IMEI number and send it.
- Step 4: The updated status of the used mobile phone/handset will be communicated via a return message.
Verification method via online portal
Go to the “Verify IMEI” option on the BTRC website and enter the IMEI number. The result will be immediately visible – whether your phone is ‘Valid’, ‘Invalid’, or ‘Clone’.
Registration of mobile phones bought or received as gifts from abroad
A mobile phone bought personally or received as a gift from abroad will initially be operational on the country’s mobile network. However, these phones must be registered subsequently.
After initial activation, the customer will be instructed via SMS within 30 days to submit the necessary information online. after verifying all the information submitted by the customer, only the legal phones will remain operational on the network.
How to register a mobile phone online
- Step 1: The customer must first visit the NEIR portal (neir.btrc.gov.bd) and register a personal account with the required information.
- Step 2: Go to the “Special Registration” section of the portal and provide the mobile phone’s IMEI number.
- Step 3: Photos or scanned copies of necessary documents such as passport visa/immigration, purchase receipt of the phone, etc, must be uploaded and the submit button must be pressed.
- Step 4: If the handset is valid, it will be registered automatically. However, if it is not valid, the customer will be informed via SMS and the phone will be disconnected from the mobile network.
According to the existing baggage rules (import policy) in Bangladesh, an individual can bring one mobile phone, in addition to their own previously used personal phone, into the country free of duty. Furthermore, they can bring one additional phone subject to paying duty.
What to do If you want to sell your phone?
If a registered mobile phone customer wishes to sell or transfer it, the handset must first be “deregistered”. For deregistration, the customer must have a SIM registered with their National Identity Card (NID) in the phone and must mention the last four digits of the National Identity (NID) card.
This process must be followed for selling or transferring a registered phone starting from the upcoming 16 December. Deregistration can be done through four channels.
Ways to deregister a registered mobile phone
- Citizen Portal (neir.btrc.gov.bd)
- Mobile Network Operator (MNO) Portal
- Mobile Apps
- USSD Channel (*16161#)
However, for deregistration, the SIM the customer is using in their phone must be registered in their own NID. For deregistering a handset with a cloned or duplicate IMEI number, the next user’s SIM number must be provided as additional information.
