The 16th meeting of the Permanent Council (PCC) of the Inter-American Communications Commission (CITEL) proposed a series of measures to be implemented in the region to combat the theft of mobile handsets and their activation and marketing. During the meeting in the city of Mar del Plata (Argentina), officials resumed last meeting’s proposals of the CITEL PCC II, which also proposed to create a regional alliance against the proliferation of this crime.

For CITEL, the issue has gained regional prominence; precisely due to advances in the fight against mobile phone theft being achieved in some countries of the region, making the black market look for other countries.

CCPI's meeting took as its starting point initiatives implemented by Colombia, where according to Colombia's non-profit mobile industry association (ASOCEL), stolen mobile phones reached 2.1 million in 2009 and amounted to 3 million in 2010. The situation led to establish mechanisms to control the marketing and sale of handsets, both new and used. In addition, databases were created to register the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number of stolen handsets.

The measures taken by the Colombian government covers: audits of databases, conditions to activate subscribers and a Public Safety Act which establishes penalties to punish the theft of mobile handsets, as well as a draft decree to restrict the operation of stolen devices.

In turn, a delegation of Ecuador proposed the creation of a "Registration of Stolen Mobile handsets" for Member States, which shall contain provisions related to the activation of cellular services; For example, create and maintain a regional database of stolen and lost handsets and prohibit the activation of equipment and/or SIM cards that appear in the system.

On this basis, the CCP I promotes the implementation of (black lists) by the database operators containing the record of the IMEI or electronic serial number of the mobile handset with a report of theft or loss at the national level, to countries that do not have one. In turn, invites Member States to use, among other alternatives, GSMA IMEI DB platforms, implemented by the GSMA association for GSM handsets. It also decided to invite the CDMA Development Group to present a similar alternative to exchange blacklists in the case of CDMA handsets.

For CITEL, the next goal is that all Member States, in coordination with the industry, work to define and implement alternative technical and operational solutions that facilitate the suspension of all services and applications of the equipment that has been reported stolen and/or lost within the national or international databases.

As additional measures officials encourage operators or importers to  buy handsets that comply with security recommendationsr against the rewriting or duplication of IMEI or electronic serial numbers identifying the manufacturer, such as those defined  by the GSMA. At the same time, it promotes to establish regulatory mechanisms, tax and / or customs to garantee the import of mobile phones and / or parts from a legitimate origin, which are approved under the regulatory framework of each member country and customs controls to prevent the exit or re-export of mobile handsets that were reported stolen.