Unregistered mobile phones will no longer be served – TRCSL

Photo by Mario Caruso on Unsplash

The Telecommunication Regulation Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) announced that they would strictly enforce service regulations on mobile phones that are not registered with them, from 1st of October, 2020 onwards. This means that phones that don’t come with a TRCSL approved sticker on the box will not be able to connect to any service provider within Sri Lanka.

In fact, customers had been advised to check for the approval sticker all the way back in 2014. But back then, TRCSL didn’t put a specific date on it – they just said any unregistered device operating with a SIM card will be deactivated in the cellular mobile operator’s network, in the future. That future is today. Dialog vibes unintentional.

TRCSL Approval example sticker
TRCSL Approval example sticker. Image from Facebook

How Does This Affect Us?

Your current phone? No effect at all. If you have been using a mobile device connected to a network before today, the newly enforced regulations have no impact on it, regardless of whether it has TRCSL approval or not. That being said, it is the responsibility of phone importers to register themselves with TRCSL, and obtain the necessary approval for each model and device. TRCSL says that the annual registration fee for vendors is a small amount. Thus, you should not have to pay extra for a phone with the approved sticker.

What about phones that you might bring from abroad for personal use in the future? In that case, you can personally register the device with TRCSL. You’ll need to provide some documents, as outlined on their website. The required application forms can be found in their Downloads page. Alternatively, you can drop in at the TRCSL office and get it done. TRCSL Director General Oshadha Senanayake mentioned in a recent interview that they are currently in the process of building a portal to let users register their own devices, fully online.

Check if a phone is registered with TRCSL

We can’t trust just any sticker that you see on the box of the phone. Anybody could print and paste a fake sticker. TRCSL advises customers to check whether the approval sticker is authentic by sending an SMS to 1909. The message body should contain the word IMEI, followed by the 15-digit IMEI number of the device.

Message format: IMEI<space><15-digit number>

Example check of TRCSL approval
Check whether your device is registered with the TRCSL by sending an SMS to 1909 with its IMEI number.

Before you buy any mobile device, check whether it’s registered with TRCSL by sending an SMS with the IMEI number to 1909.

Another valid question would be what happens to phones imported by unregistered vendors that are currently sitting on their display counters; those have not been used before, meaning they have not been connected to any network yet. When a customer buys such a device, service providers will not let them connect to networks. The ideal procedure would be for all vendors to register with TRCSL and get each device approved.

Popular YouTuber Chamuditha Samarawickrama recently did an interview with the TRCSL director general, in which they discussed the newly enforced regulations and much more. You can watch it below for more info.