International Mobile Subscriber Identity

IMSI[im-zee] is an acronym for International Mobile Subscriber Identity. This is a

unique number that is associated with all GSM and UMTS network mobile phone users.
The number is stored in the SIM. It is sent by the mobile to the network and is used to
look up the other details of the mobile in the HLR or as locally copied in the VLR. In
order to avoid the subscriber being identified and tracked by eavesdroppers on the radio
interface, the IMSI is sent as rarely as possible and a randomly generated TMSI is sent
instead.

An IMSI is usually fifteen digits long. However, they can be shorter (eg. MTN
SouthAfrica's are 14 digits). The first three digits are the country code (MCC), and the
next digits are the network code (MNC). The MNC can be either two digits long (normal
e.g. in Europe) or three digits long (normal in North America), the remaining digits, up to
the maximum length are the unique subscriber number (MSIN) within the network's
customer base.

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

Example

IMSI: 202100108346697

MCC 202 Greece

MNC 10 Tim Hellas
MSIN 0108346697

Example (American)

IMSI: 310150123456789

MCC 310 USA

MNC 150 Cingular Wireless
MSIN 123456789

IMSI Analysis
IMSI analysis is the process of examining a subscriber's IMSI in order to identify which
network the IMSI belongs to and whether subscribers from that network are allowed to
use a given network (if they are not local subscribers, this will require a roaming
agreement).
If the subscriber is not from our network, then we must convert the IMSI to a Global Title
at this state which can then be used for accessing the subscribers data in the remote HLR.
This is mainly important for international mobile roaming.

Outside North America the IMSI is converted, to the hybrid number format, E.214, which
is similar to, but not the same as an E.164 number. The E.214 numbering plan is very
similar to, but distinct from, the E.164 number format (more or less a telephone number)
and is used for international routing of SS7 messages. E.214 provides a method for
converting the IMSI into a number that can be used for routing to international SS7
switches. The conversion process described in E.214 can be interpreted as implying that
there are two separate stages of conversion; first determine the MCC and convert to
E.164 CC then second determine MNC (two or three digits) and convert to national
network code for the carrier's network. This process is not used in practise and the GSM
numbering authority has clearly stated that a one stage process is used [1].

In North America, the IMSI is just 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 more
details please see Global Title Translation.

Example of IMSI analysis and conversion outside World Area 1

N.B. this example shows the actual practise which is not clearly as described in the
standards.

Translation rule:

* match numbers starting 28401 (Bulgaria MCC + MobilTel MNC)

* identify this as belonging to MobilTel-Bulgaria network
* remove first five digits (length of MCC+MNC)
* add 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

so we get 284011234567890 becomes 359881234567890 numbering plan E.214.

Translation rule:

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

* remove first six digits (length of MCC+MNC)
* add 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

so we get 310150123456789 becomes 14054123456789 numbering plan E.214.

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.

[edit]

Example of IMSI analysis and conversion inside World Area 1 (North

America)

Translation rule:

* match numbers starting 24801 (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.214 numbering plan.
* route message on Global Title across SCCP network

so we get 284011234567890 becomes 284011234567890 numbering plan E.212.

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

[edit]

HNI
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. The reason to make this
specific distinction is that in a country with multiple country codes (e.g. the USA has
codes 310 up to 316) there may be two different networks, with the same Mobile
Network Code, but only one of which is the home network. In order to know which
network a mobile belongs to we have to analyse the entire HNI at once.

[edit]

Global Title problems

E.214's recommendation for Global Title Translation does not take into account countries
with more than 1 MCC (for example the U.S., which has 7 MCCs), or shared numbering
plans (for example NANPA, or the +1 country code, which applies to the U.S., Canada,
and all the countries in the Caribbean).

The problem lies in de-translation of the global title back into a mobile network E.212
IMSI. Since E.214 recommends that the country part of the translation be done first, it
presumes that a given E.164 country code only relates to a single E.212 mobile country
code. Unfortunately this is untrue in NANPA member nations, and doubly untrue in the
U.S. So a global title with CC of 1 can indicate any of 7 U.S. MCCs, or Canada, or any
Caribbean nation.

This has led to a temporary discontinuation of distributing IMSIs in the U.S. with MCCs
other than 310, in an attempt to minimise the ambiguity.

In practise, however, home carriers use a deeper translation process which performs a
lookup based on the entire CC+NC in order to better determine the correct country (in the
case of NANPA, this would be 1+area code, which can uniquely identify a country -- but
there are hundreds of area codes). More of the number then has to be used to determine
the carrier network (in some cases up to 4 digits).

Future possibilities for eliminating the global title problem include upgrading
international switches to accept IMSIs as global titles, thus eliminating any such
ambiguities. This is an especially handy solution, as non-GSM networks begin to
transition to IMSIs for subscriber identification. However the expense of such an
infrastructure upgrade may not be feasible for all countries anytime soon.