Orite wrote:
> Around 80% of mobile phones will be blocked on all five UK networks within
> 48 hours of being reported stolen in future, industry leaders have pledged.
This is good news, but John Reid is most likely getting involved to set
the networks up for when the crime figures go up (or don't go down). By
putting the emphasis on the networks to bar the phones, it gives the
Government the perfect excuse next time around; it's not THEIR fault
but the likes of Vodafone, Orange etc.
When he said it would help reduce street robberies (yet, this won't
stop the theft of cameras and iPods) it was on the assumption that
criminals steal phones to sell on in the UK. Any criminal worth his
salt will sell the phone to someone that exports them, rather than try
and get a few quid in a pub. These phones will be reprogrammed en
masse, or sent to countries that can't afford to, or simply won't,
consult the international
IMEI register.
I'm always surprised that the police in the UK don't properly recognise
that exporting is a bigger problem than reprogramming a phone for
re-use in the UK. The law will soon change on reprogramming (so you can
be prosecuted for simply offering to reprogramme a phone even if you're
not caught in the act) but even that might not have the desired effect
of cutting the number of phones being stolen.
I might be proved wrong, but sadly I doubt it.
Jonathan
(What Mobile magazine)
Linear Mode
