The state project for development of the mobile device IMEI-based control system was launched in Russia in 2017. The project was aimed to create a single base of subscriber identifiers and to allow revealing and blocking mobile devices with clone or invalid identifiers, that is, counterfeit, non-certified and stolen ones.

A year later, the federal executive bodies approved the concept of Monitoring Subscriber Devices by IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) and organized a working group to discuss the amendments to Federal Law 126-FZ On Communications. According to the changes, after adoption of the bill, Russian operators shall be bound to install software for registering IMEI.

Tele2 was among the first to start a tender for the supply and adaptation of the system. Eastwind, being an expert in EIR integration, won the right to launch a pilot project among a dozen of international vendors. Sergei Sobyanin, Head of Eastwind Billing Department: "We won the tender, and Tele2 provided the infrastructure that we used to deploy and test the system that fulfilled all business requirements."

According to the tender conditions, Eastwind engineers adapted EW EIR to the features of all communication switches, fully integrated the system into the network, demonstrated the interaction of communication protocols and IMEI registration and blocking processes. As a result, EW EIR processes Check IMEI requests, interacts with the carrier’s internal infrastructure, registers new IMSI/MSISDN and changes of IMEI. Estimated system performance meets the customer requirements.

"During the summary presentation, we summed up the results. The customer was satisfied with the pilot launch and thanked our employees for their commitment and professionalism," concluded Sergei Sobyanin.