International mobile subscriber identity

The international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) /ˈɪmziː/ is

a number that uniquely identifies every user of a cellular E.212
network.[1] It is stored as a 64-bit field and is sent by the mobile International Mobile Subscriber
device to the network. It is also used for acquiring other details of Identity (IMSI)
the mobile in the home location register (HLR) or as locally Status In force
copied in the visitor location register. To prevent eavesdroppers
from identifying and tracking the subscriber on the radio Year started 1988
interface, the IMSI is sent as rarely as possible and a randomly- Latest (09/16)
generated TMSI is sent instead. version September 2016

The IMSI is used in any mobile network that interconnects with Organization ITU-T
other networks. For GSM, UMTS and LTE networks, this number Committee Study Group 2
was provisioned in the SIM card and for cdmaOne and Website https://www.itu.int
CDMA2000 networks, in the phone directly or in the R-UIM card
/rec/T-REC-E.212
(the CDMA equivalent of the SIM card). Both cards have been
superseded by the UICC.

An IMSI is usually presented as a 15-digit number but can be shorter. For example, MTN South Africa's
old IMSIs that are still in use in the market are 14 digits long. The first 3 digits represent the mobile
country code (MCC), which is followed by the mobile network code (MNC), either 2-digit (European
standard) or 3-digit (North American standard). The length of the MNC depends on the value of the
MCC, and it is recommended that the length is uniform within a MCC area.[2] The remaining digits are
the mobile subscription identification number (MSIN) within the network's customer base, usually 9 to
10 digits long, depending on the length of the MNC.

The IMSI conforms to the ITU E.212 numbering standard.

IMSIs can sometimes be mistaken for the ICCID (E.118), which is the identifier for the physical SIM
card itself (or now the virtual SIM card if it is an eSIM). The IMSI lives as part of the profile (or one of
several profiles if the SIM and operator support multi-IMSI SIMs) on the SIM/ICCID.

Examples of IMSI numeric presentational

IMSI:310170845466094

MCC 310 United States

MNC 170 Sprint

MSIN 845466094

IMSI:470040123456789

MCC 470 Bangladesh

MNC 04 TeleTalk

MSIN 0123456789
IMSI:502130123456789

MCC 502 MY

MNC 13 Celcom

MSIN 0123456789

IMSI:460001357924680

MCC 460 CHINA

MNC 00 CMCC

MSIN 1357924680

IMSI:520031234567890

MCC 520 THAILAND

MNC 03 AIS

MSIN 1234567890

IMSI:313460000000001

IMSI 313 460 000 000 001

MCC 313 United States

MNC 460 Mobi[3]

MSIN 000000001

891460 0000 0000 0012

ICCID
(89 is the industry identifier for telecom and +1 is calling code)

IMSI analysis
IMSI analysis is the process of examining a subscriber's IMSI to identify the network the IMSI belongs
to, and whether subscribers from that network may use a given network (if they are not local subscribers,
this requires a roaming agreement).

If the subscriber is not from the provider's network, the IMSI must be converted to a Global Title, which
can then be used for accessing the subscriber's data in the remote HLR. This is mainly important for
international mobile roaming. Outside North America, the IMSI is converted to the Mobile Global Title
(MGT) format, standard E.214, which is similar to an E.164 number. E.214 provides a method to convert
the IMSI into a number that can be used for routing to international SS7 switches. E.214 can be
interpreted as implying that there are two separate stages of conversion; first determine the MCC and
convert to E.164 country calling code then determine MNC and convert to national network code for the
carrier's network. But this process is not used in practice and the GSM numbering authority has clearly
stated that a one-stage process is used [1] (http://www.ifast.org/files/IFAST22_015_GSMNALetter.pdf).

In North America, the IMSI is directly converted to an E.212 number with no modification of its value.
This can be routed directly on American SS7 networks.

After this conversion, SCCP is used to send the message to its final destination. For details, see Global
Title Translation.
Example of outside World Area 1

This example shows the actual practice which is not clearly described in the standards.

Translation rule:

▪ match numbers starting 28401 (Bulgaria mobile country code + MobilTel MNC)
▪ identify this as belonging to MobilTel-Bulgaria network
▪ remove first five digits (length of MCC+MNC)
▪ prepend 35988 (Bulgaria E.164 country code + a Bulgarian local prefix reaching MobilTel's
network)
▪ mark the number as having E.214 numbering plan.
▪ route message on Global Title across SCCP network

Therefore, 284011234567890 becomes 359881234567890 under the E.214 numbering plan.

Translation rule:

▪ match numbers starting 310150 (America first MCC + Cingular MNC)

▪ remove first six digits (length of MCC+MNC)
▪ prepend 14054 (North America E.164 country code + Network Code for Cingular)
▪ mark the number as having E.214 numbering plan.
▪ route message on Global Title across SCCP network

Therefore, 310150123456789 becomes 14054123456789 under the E.214 numbering plan.

The result is an E.214 compliant Global Title, (Numbering Plan Indicator is set to 7 in the SCCP
message). This number can now be sent to Global Title Analysis.

Example inside World Area 1 (North America)

Translation rule:

▪ match number starting 28401 (Bulgaria MCC + MobilTel MNC)

▪ identify this as belonging to MobilTel-Bulgaria network
▪ do not alter the digits of the number
▪ mark the number as having E.212 numbering plan.
▪ route message on Global Title across SCCP network

Therefore, 284011234567890 becomes 284011234567890 under the E.212 numbering plan.

This number has to be converted on the ANSI to ITU boundary. For more details please see Global Title
Translation.

Home Network Identity

The Home Network Identity (HNI) is the combination of the MCC and the MNC. This is the number
which fully identifies a subscriber's home network. This combination is also known as the PLMN.
See also
▪ IMEI
▪ MSISDN
▪ MEID
▪ Electronic Serial Number
▪ IMSI-catcher

References
1. "E.212 : The international identification plan for public networks and subscriptions" (https://w
ww.itu.int/rec/T-REC-E.212). www.itu.int. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
2. 3GPP specification 23.003 (http://www.3gpp.org/DynaReport/23003.htm) Release 14.3.0
(2017-03), 2.2 "Composition of IMSI"
3. "HNI Assignments | IMSIAdmin" (http://imsiadmin.com/assignments).

External links
▪ "Cellular Networking Perspectives" article in Wireless Telecom Magazine (https://web.archiv
e.org/web/20040607225011/http://www.cnp-wireless.com/ArticleArchive/Wireless%20Teleco
m/2001Q1WT.html)
▪ IMSI oversight council responsible for allocating IMSI ranges in the USA (http://www.atis.org
/ATIS/IOC/iochom.htm) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20040423215552/http://www.
atis.org/ATIS/IOC/iochom.htm) 2004-04-23 at the Wayback Machine
▪ IMSI Lookup Utility (https://www.numberingplans.com/?page=analysis&sub=imsinr)
▪ Explanation of GSM numbering plans (http://www.mib.net.ua/2008/03/gsm-numbering-plans
-en.html)

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