Mobile operators can block service to stolen phones but don’t oft...

London. In S. Africa, 30% of phones are stolen and recycled, said William Hearmon, African CDMA Forum chmn. Operators claim a social duty to cut services when that happens but care more about getting paid, he said. Unlike in the U.S. and other industrialized nations, in Africa concern over stolen mobiles is less about identity theft -- Africans “don’t give a damn” about that, he told us -- than about losing one’s phone, Terho said. A Ghanaian legislator agreed theft is on the upswing, and both men asked operators what they intend to do about it. The matter involves 2 issues, said GSM Assn. (GSMA) chief govt. & regulatory affairs officer Tom Phillips. Many stolen phones are sold in the gray market and emerging economies, spurred by the cost of high-quality phones, a factor govts. could reduce by cutting taxes on entry-level phones, said Phillips. Operators could help by regularly polling central equipment registers to see if a phone’s unique identifier is showing up as stolen and if so, blocking service, he said. GSM members often do that, and that service is available to all operators in the GSM world, Phillips said.