Thief stealing phone from the car

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If someone steals your mobile handset, or perhaps you’ve lost it and it finds itself in the hands of someone else, very soon, that phone won’t work on any local mobile networks. You’d most likely have to use a foreign sim card.

That’s because Digicel has announced that it is collaborating on an industry solution to block stolen phones from accessing all local mobile networks.

The company said the move represents a significant step in an industrywide effort to prevent the sale of stolen phones.

Digicel said also that the effort is to further protect its customers in instances where their phones have been stolen.

CEO of Digicel Jamaica Jabbor Kayumov said very soon, stolen phones will no longer work on any network in Jamaica. In time, all Caribbean countries where Digicel operates will fall in line.

“We are enhancing this assurance by working diligently through collaboration with the Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology and industry stakeholders,” said

Already, Digicel customers are able to report the loss or theft of their phones, however, the devices are only blocked on its network.

By supporting a cross-network solution, stolen phones will be disabled and included in a national database that would prevent them from being reconnected to any network.

“There is a significant need for this now, considering that more robberies today involve the theft of a cell phone, with some incidents leading to injury and even death. This cannot be allowed to continue,” Jabbor remarked.