[aprssig] Looking for an appplication ?

[Rich Osman]

Jack Spitznagel wrote:
> -US SIM cards are taped in under the ID and warranty stickers, and the
>   
Not in any phones I'm aware of and I do this for a living. I work for a
phone manufacturer.
> phones have provider specific applications burned into memory. US phones
> are somewhat harder to steal and make "disappear" because system
> activation is done based on linking the phone ESN to the users phone
> number.
>   
GSM and UMTS (WCDMA) phones have an phone id number independent of the
SIM called the IMEI. While operators have the option of linking these
few do. You can use any SIM in any phone unless the operator has locked
the phone to their network. Many do this to prevent using a phone they
subsidize through a contract going to a competitor's network. This is
true globally, though some specific countries ban both subsidies and
locking.

None of this applies to IS-95 CDMA/CDMA2000/IX phones. They are their
own world.
>     In the US, you need to reprogram a "valid" ESN to avoid "permanent
>     deactivation" of a stolen phone (yah... I know that this is done...
>     as is stealing of ESN's, but that kind of stuff has to be handled by
>     a phreaker).
>   
Old data. Applied to analog AMPS and D-AMPS phones that are no longer
supported by any US network of significance. Even when they were active,
phones were rarely deactivated for theft. The dominant cause of
deactivation was contract cancellation or past due bills.
> Elsewhere, you can just buy a SIM from another provider and off you go.
>   
This is also an option in the US. Bundling strategies usually make
contracts and 'free' phones more attractive.
> My son who is studying in Australia discovered that the hard way with a
> feature rich pay-as-you-go phone he took down with him. After his got
> pinched (during a laboratory session!), his Aussie friends (and a local
> Telstra agent) told him to get a dirt cheap phone and forgo the nice
> features (music players, radios, GPS, etc). Nice phones get stolen out
> of backpacks at the local Uni with amazing speed. The black market for
> phones is apparently pretty busy.
>   
Yup. One reason is that while the operator can track the IMEI, few do.
They aren't the police, don't have enforcement powers, and real police
don't seem to care about things that are 'given away for free.' Even
high end phones don't have enough value to interest the police.


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Rich Osman;  POB 93167; Southlake, TX 76092 (Near DFW Airport)