Indonesia's IT Minister, Johnny G. Plate. (Image via Teknologi - Bisnis.com)

Indonesia's IT Ministry tries to block illegal phones

Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Information Technology declared war on illegal smartphones from the black market by announcing systems that will be used for the occasion this week.

Speaking at the IT Ministry office, the IT Minister, Johnny G. Plate, said that the Ministry will discuss International Mobile Equipment Indonesia (IMEI) regulation with the operators whether they will use a blacklist or whitelist system. The IMEI regulation is expected to run into effect on 18 April 2020.

When being asked about the IMEI test held with the two largest network operators in Indonesia, XL Axiata and Telkomsel, Johnny did not reveal further details. Acting Chief Technology Officer of XL Axiata, I Gede Dharmayusa, said that XL got the opportunity to try out the blacklist mechanism, while Telkomsel got to try whitelist mechanism.

The blacklist mechanism will block telecommunication access on smartphones with IMEI included in the blacklist. Meanwhile, the whitelist will do the opposite, giving telecommunication access to smartphones whose IMEI is registered in SIBINA, IMEI database in Indonesia.

Moreover, the system is said to be under the possession of the Ministry of Industry.

The Minister claimed that the operators possess the budget to provide equipment to block IMEI. At least Rp13.6 billion is required to provide the equipment called Equipment Identity Registration (EIR).

The problem occurred when the operators complained that the government did not offer any incentive for the program, yet when being asked, the government, included Johnny just now, said that they possess the fund.

Dharmayusa said that EIR for whitelist will require more budget as it requires larger space.

Source: https://bit.ly/396GuKK