An International Mobile Subscriber Identity or IMSI (pronounced /ˈɪmzi/) is a unique number associated with all GSM and UMTS network mobile phone users. It is stored in the SIM inside the phone and is sent by the phone to the network. It is also used for acquiring other details of the mobile in the Home Location Register (HLR) or as locally copied in the Visitor Location Register. To prevent eavesdroppers identifying and tracking the subscriber on the radio interface, the IMSI is sent as rarely as possible and a randomly-generated TMSI is sent instead.
The IMSI is used in any mobile network that interconnects with other networks, in particular CDMA and EVDO networks as well as GSM networks. This number is provisioned in the phone directly or in the R-UIM card (a CDMA analogue equivalent to a SIM card in GSM).
An IMSI is usually 15 digits long, but can be shorter (for example MTN South Africa's old IMSIs that are still being used in the market are 14 digits). The first 3 digits are the Mobile Country Code (MCC), and is followed by the Mobile Network Code (MNC), either 2 digits (European standard) or 3 digits (North American standard). The remaining digits are the mobile station identification number (MSIN) within the network's customer base.
