Legally installed SIM Boxes/GSM Gateways
Dr. Adrian Wrigley
I am thinking about (legally) installing a SIM Box for my business
calls as a gateway to my VoIP system.
Perhaps something like at:
http://www.c21communications.com/voip_eshop.html
I hear that the networks have automated technology to punish people
using SIM Boxes illegally by terminating contracts and disabling their
SIMs with systems like these "SIM box stoppers":
http://www.revector.com/
http://www.sevis.com/SBD.asp
http://www.meucci-solutions.com/solutions.asp?id=22&content=SIM%20Box%20Detection
http://www.araxxe.com/ # Arabypass Bypass Detection and Protection
Service
As they say, "SIM Boxes are a major source of revenue leakage"
My question:
How do the networks shut down the illegal SIM Box users without
affecting the legal users? I fear that I may be mistakenly cut off
by these "fraud prevention" devices. Perhaps my usage will trigger
their detectors, perhaps not.
Ofcom confirms the legitimacy of corporate SIM Boxes:
"Ofcom has recently clarified that it is entirely legal under UK law
for end-users (whether businesses or ordinary consumers) to buy,
install and use GSM gateways for their own use."
And even the German Federal Network Agency says:
"The use of so-called corporate GSM gateways in business customer
relationships in which mobile employees are connected via a private
automatic branch exchange (PABX) at their company to a mobile radio
network does not serve to relay traffic between different networks
(interconnection) but instead enables economical traffic management in
actual mobile radio networks, and represents a permissible usage."
In short, will I get barred for running my SIM Box?
--
Dr. Adrian Wrigley, Cambridge, UK.
Gyp
Dr. Adrian Wrigley <am...@linuxchip.demon.co.uk.uk.uk> writes
>Hi people!
>
>I am thinking about (legally) installing a SIM Box for my business
>calls as a gateway to my VoIP system.
<Snip>
>How do the networks shut down the illegal SIM Box users without
>affecting the legal users? I fear that I may be mistakenly cut off
>by these "fraud prevention" devices. Perhaps my usage will trigger
>their detectors, perhaps not.
Network operators should only cut you off if you are doing this in
breach of their terms and conditions, which you will have agreed to as a
condition of using their network.
>Ofcom confirms the legitimacy of corporate SIM Boxes:
>"Ofcom has recently clarified that it is entirely legal under UK law
>for end-users (whether businesses or ordinary consumers) to buy,
>install and use GSM gateways for their own use."
In agreement with OFCOM, I can't see how using these sort of boxes could
be considered fraudulent as such, as they appear to be a legitimate use
of the technology; i.e. you are not using the networks' international
carriers without paying for them, you are managing and paying for the
international leg of the call yourself, and the in-country calls you do
make are being paid for legitimately.
I can see entirely that the Mobile Network Operators would find this
undesirable as it is reducing their potential revenue, but it's really
no different to doing what Skype has been doing with the Skype-in and
Skype-out services for a while now, and there are a number of large
companies offering this sort of technology corporately at the moment -
partly to ensure that all company mobile calls go through the
switchboard for regularity purposes, partly to provide converged mailbox
services but mainly to allow for mobile calls to be routed nationally
and internationally via VoIP.
Of course, none of that helps if you install your kit and a couple of
months later, your business phones stop ringing. As you're a business
user, I'd suggest you contact your account managers on every mobile
network where you want to do this and discuss with them what you intend
to do before you do it.
They should either tell you it'll be fine, and/or set a flag in their
databases for the SIMs concerned to allow this sort or use, or if they
don't you can prod OFCOM (in the UK at least). Either way it's better to
know if it'll work before you try it than after it goes wrong.
--
Gyp
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