Glossary of Terms

The world of mobile telephony is full of initials and acronyms. Here is a guide to some of the terms commonly used when dealing with mobile networks. If you have any questions on terminology, please contact your account manager who will be happy to help.

API - The Application Programming Interface is a collection of utilities which allow a user to make changes to their account

ICCID - The Integrated Circuit Card Identification is the SIM card serial number

IMEI - The International Mobile Equipment Identity is a unique 15-digit code used to identify an individual mobile station to a mobile network

IMSI - The International Mobile Subscriber Identity is a unique number that is associated with all GSM and UMTS network mobile phone users. The number is stored in the USIM. European IMSIs are fifteen digits long

MSISDN - A single Mobile Station Integrated Services Digital Network is typically assigned for access to Voice, Fax, SMS and Data services

POP - This is the name given to a point of presence, or a location in which a provider's interconnects and peering points are situated

PSTN - The Public Switched Telephone Network is the traditional wired network used by most numbering providers.

USIM - The Universal Subscriber Identity Module is the memory on a SIM card which stores subscriber information, contact details, and other custom settings