Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Poudel addressed a Mobile Device Management System (MDMS) in the budget announcement of 2077/2078. The system will be regulating inside Nepal effective from Shrawan 1, 2078. The government already installed a secondary data site in Government Integrated Data Site (GIDC) and now is in a way to install a primary data site in Chabahil.
What is MDMS?
Mobile Device Management System or MDMS is a new facility implementing effectively from Shrawan 1. This will make all the illegal grey phones non-functional. This implies it will not support any network SIM cards available in Nepal. You will not be able to call, text, or use mobile data from those phones. You will be limited to the internet and these kinds of things. NTA will differentiate between authorized and unauthorized IMEI numbers and then the network service will be cut off.
When will the MDMS start?
As I mentioned earlier, the MDMS will start from Shrawan 1 in Nepal. However, NTA seems unprepared for the proper implementation of the system. Nepal Telecommunications Authority has NPR 1 billion for this project going on for the past two years.
We can only hope that this would implement in a good way because the more the system goes out of the way the longer it would take to maintain the pace.
Why do we need MDMS in Nepal?
Nepal brings in 10 lakhs smartphones per month and among that approximately 2.5 lakhs are illegal. This makes the government lose around 7 arabas tax revenue per month. According to an unknown source, we came to know that with every 2000 people entering Nepal, around 50% of them bring a smartphone with them.
These phones do not follow any standard government procedures. The phone must get NTA Type Approval and pay 13% VAT alongside 2.5% Excise duty. Only after the device registers, the sale starts. But people have been ignoring all these procedures and they have continuously brought in grey phones without registration, without Tax leaving no record on the NTA. As a result, the government had to implement all these rules for the new and legal establishment.
Further, for consumers, the Grey phones have many demerits. For instance, smartphones will not support NTC carrier aggregation facilities. There will be no service provided by the respective brand’s service center and what’s worse is that your device might be a counterfeit.
How to register your IMEI number in the NTA?
You can register your IMEI number in NTA online now. You can see your IMEI number at the back of your box where the phone was packed at the time of purchase. If the box is not at your access, then you can type *#06# on your keypad which will lead you to your IMEI number.
Further, to register it follow the following steps:
- Visit https://eir.nta.gov.np/main/individual/register
- Create a login register
- Click New Register and enter your IMEI number with Brand Name, Mobile Number, Name, and Address.
- Upload an ID photo whose size should not exceed 3MB.
- You are done with it
However, if you are confused you can also check whether your device is already registered or not. To do that you can visit https://eir.nta.gov.np/main/know-your-device and enter your IMEI number. This will tell you if you need to register your device or not.
Verdict
The government is not ready to fully implement this MDMS system in Nepal. But if this gets implemented there will a very positive impact on the economy of Nepal. NTA can also track your lost phone by tracking the IMEI number.
However, the government has still not focused on the overpriced rate of smartphones. This is the main reason Nepal has too many grey phones. In addition, the smartphones launch late and some of the good phones don’t even reach here.
Also Read: – Nepal Telecom introduces VoLTE Service with HD Quality Voice first-ever in Nepal
