The goal is to render stolen cellphones useless, drying up the market for them and removing the incentive to steal them.

Associated Press:

Major wireless service companies have agreed to disable cellphones after they are reported stolen under a strategy intended to deter the theft and resale of wireless devices.

The system announced Tuesday relies on a centralized database that will enable providers to recognize when a phone has been reported as stolen and prevent it from being used again.

“We’re sending a message to consumers that we’ve got your back and a message to criminals that we’re cracking down,” Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said in announcing the new strategy with several big-city police chiefs and a wireless industry representative.

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