Registering mobile devices by IMEI has become a mainstream instrument of digital policy. Such systems now operate in dozens of countries under different names — NEIR in Bangladesh, DIRBS in Pakistan, CEIR in India, national IMEI registration in Uzbekistan — yet they address the same core task, and are known in the industry collectively as a Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR). For regulators and operators weighing one, the practical question is how to design a system that delivers measurable results without creating friction for subscribers.
International experience points to two decisive factors. The first is depth of integration: a registry connected to customs, tax authorities, government service portals and GSMA data operates far more accurately than a standalone list and leaves less room for errors and false blocking. The second is a gradual rollout, in which devices already in use are registered automatically and ordinary subscribers are spared cumbersome procedures.
Uzbekistan is one of the clearest illustrations. After its national system went live in 2019, official device imports over a comparable period rose 7.7 times, budget revenue increased more than eightfold, and around 47 million identifiers were placed on record, with collected fees reinvested into telecom infrastructure in rural and remote areas. The platform behind the system was developed by SC.Soft, which also deployed EIR nodes across operator networks and has taken part in industry dialogue on device registration, including the GSMA M360 roundtable.
The counter-examples are just as instructive. Where registration fees are set punitively high, buyers are pushed back toward informal channels and the market stays grey. A well-designed system addresses several tasks at once, from fraud prevention and blocking stolen or illegally imported devices to enabling digital services such as eSIM management and credit-sale controls, and when it is built as a platform from the start it becomes lasting infrastructure rather than a one-off control tool.
