Subscriber identity module - wikipedia Subscriber identity module It has been suggested that Overlay SIM be merged into this article. ( Discuss ) Proposed since July 2017. A typical SIM card ( mini-SIM ) A mini-SIM card next to its electrical contacts in a Nokia 6233 A TracFone Wireless SIM card has no distinctive carrier markings and is only marked as a `` SIM CARD ''. A subscriber identity module or subscriber identification module ( SIM ) is an integrated circuit that is intended to securely store the international mobile subscriber identity ( IMSI ) number and its related key, which are used to identify and authenticate subscribers on mobile telephony devices ( such as mobile phones and computers ). It is also possible to store contact information on many SIM cards. SIM cards are always used on GSM phones ; for CDMA phones, they are only needed for newer LTE - capable handsets. SIM cards can also be used in satellite phones, computers, or cameras. The SIM circuit is part of the function of a universal integrated circuit card ( UICC ) physical smart card, which is usually made of PVC with embedded contacts and semiconductors. `` SIM cards '' are transferable between different mobile devices. The first UICC smart cards were the size of credit and bank cards ; sizes were reduced several times over the years, usually keeping electrical contacts the same, so that a larger card could be cut down to a smaller size. A SIM card contains its unique serial number ( ICCID ), international mobile subscriber identity ( IMSI ) number, security authentication and ciphering information, temporary information related to the local network, a list of the services the user has access to, and two passwords : a personal identification number ( PIN ) for ordinary use, and a personal unblocking code ( PUC ) for PIN unlocking. Contents 1 History and procurement 1.1 Inactivation 1.2 Registration 2 Design 3 Data 3.1 ICCID 3.2 International mobile subscriber identity ( IMSI ) 3.3 Authentication key ( K ) 3.4 Location area identity 3.5 SMS messages and contacts 4 Formats 4.1 Full - size SIM 4.2 Mini-SIM 4.3 Micro-SIM 4.4 Nano - SIM 4.5 Embedded - SIM / embedded universal integrated circuit card ( eUICC ) 5 Security 6 Developments 6.1 USIM 6.2 UICC 6.3 Other variants 7 Usage in mobile phone standards 8 SIM and carriers 8.1 SIM - only 9 Multiple - SIM devices 10 See also 11 References 12 External links History and procurement The SIM was initially specified by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute in the specification with the number TS 11.11. This specification describes the physical and logical behaviour of the SIM. With the development of UMTS, the specification work was partially transferred to 3GPP. 3GPP is now responsible for the further development of applications like SIM ( TS 51.011 ) and USIM ( TS 31.102 ) and ETSI for the further development of the physical card UICC. The first SIM card was developed in 1991 by Munich smart - card maker Giesecke & Devrient, who sold the first 300 SIM cards to the Finnish wireless network operator Radiolinja. Today, SIM cards are ubiquitous, allowing over 7 billion devices to connect to cellular networks around the world. According to the International Card Manufacturers Association ( ICMA ), there were 5.4 billion SIM cards manufactured globally in 2016 creating over $6.5 billion in revenue for traditional SIM card vendors. The rise of cellular IoT and 5G networks is predicted to drive the growth of the addressable market for SIM card manufacturers to over 20 billion cellular devices by 2020. The introduction of Embedded SIM ( eSIM ) and Remote SIM Provisioning ( RSP ) from the GSMA may disrupt the traditional SIM card ecosystem with the entrance of new players specializing in `` digital '' SIM card provisioning and other value - added services for mobile network operators. Inactivation Many non-contractual `` pay - as - you - go '' arrangements require the subscriber to actively use credit periodically to avoid account expiration, expiration period depends on network operators, typically defining a period from three months to one year. This is sometimes associated with the SIM card being made `` inactive '' by the network. Registration Most countries and operators require customer identification to activate service, but some, such as The United States, Hong Kong SAR, Lithuania and the Philippines, do not. Design SIM chip structure and packaging There are three operating voltages for SIM cards : 5 V, 3 V and 1.8 V ( ISO / IEC 7816 - 3 classes A, B and C, respectively ). The operating voltage of the majority of SIM cards launched before 1998 was 5 V. SIM cards produced subsequently are compatible with 3 V and 5 V. Modern cards support 5 V, 3 V and 1.8 V. 4 by 4 mm silicon chip in a SIM card which has been peeled open. Note the thin gold bonding wires, and the regular, rectangular digital memory areas. Modern SIM cards allow applications to load when the SIM is in use by the subscriber. These applications communicate with the handset or a server using SIM Application Toolkit, which was initially specified by 3GPP in TS 11.14. ( There is an identical ETSI specification with different numbering. ) ETSI and 3GPP maintain the SIM specifications. The main specifications are : ETSI TS 102 223, ETSI TS 102 241, ETSI TS 102 588, and ETSI TS 131 111. SIM toolkit applications were initially written in native code using proprietary APIs. To provide interoperability of the applications, ETSI chose Java Card.. Additional standard size and specifications of interest are maintained by GlobalPlatform. Data SIM cards store network - specific information used to authenticate and identify subscribers on the network. The most important of these are the ICCID, IMSI, Authentication Key ( Ki ), Local Area Identity ( LAI ) and Operator - Specific Emergency Number. The SIM also stores other carrier - specific data such as the SMSC ( Short Message Service Center ) number, Service Provider Name ( SPN ), Service Dialing Numbers ( SDN ), Advice - Of - Charge parameters and Value Added Service ( VAS ) applications. ( Refer to GSM 11.11 ) SIM cards can come in various data capacities, from 8 KB to at least 256 KB. All can store a maximum of 250 contacts on the SIM, but while the 32 KB has room for 33 Mobile Network Codes ( MNCs ) or network identifiers, the 64 KB version has room for 80 MNCs. This is used by network operators to store data on preferred networks, mostly used when the SIM is not in its home network but is roaming. The network operator that issued the SIM card can use this to have a phone connect to a preferred network that is more economic for the provider instead of having to pay the network operator that the phone ' saw ' first. This does not mean that a phone containing this SIM card can connect to a maximum of only 33 or 80 networks, but it means that the SIM card issuer can specify only up to that number of preferred networks. If a SIM is outside these preferred networks it uses the first or best available network. ICCID Each SIM is internationally identified by its integrated circuit card identifier ( ICCID ). ICCIDs are stored in the SIM cards and are also engraved or printed on the SIM card body during a process called personalisation. The ICCID is defined by the ITU - T recommendation E. 118 as the Primary Account Number. Its layout is based on ISO / IEC 7812. According to E. 118, the number is up to 22 digits long, including a single check digit calculated using the Luhn algorithm. However, the GSM Phase 1 defined the ICCID length as 10 octets ( 20 digits ) with operator - specific structure. The number is composed of the following subparts : Issuer identification number ( IIN ) Maximum of seven digits : Major industry identifier ( MII ), 2 fixed digits, 89 for telecommunication purposes. Country code, 1 -- 3 digits, as defined by ITU - T recommendation E. 164. Issuer identifier, 1 -- 4 digits. Individual account identification Individual account identification number. Its length is variable, but every number under one IIN has the same length. Check digit Single digit calculated from the other digits using the Luhn algorithm. With the GSM Phase 1 specification using 10 octets into which ICCID is stored as packed BCD, the data field has room for 20 digits with hexadecimal digit `` F '' being used as filler when necessary. In practice, this means that on GSM SIM cards there are 20 - digit ( 19 + 1 ) and 19 - digit ( 18 + 1 ) ICCIDs in use, depending upon the issuer. However, a single issuer always uses the same size for its ICCIDs. To confuse matters more, SIM factories seem to have varying ways of delivering electronic copies of SIM personalization datasets. Some datasets are without the ICCID checksum digit, others are with the digit. As required by E. 118, The ITU publishes a list of all current internationally assigned IIN codes in its Operational Bulletins. As of October 2016 the list issued on 15 November 2013 was current. International mobile subscriber identity ( IMSI ) SIM cards are identified on their individual operator networks by a unique International Mobile Subscriber Identity ( IMSI ). Mobile network operators connect mobile phone calls and communicate with their market SIM cards using their IMSIs. The format is : The first three digits represent the Mobile Country Code ( MCC ). The next two or three digits represent the Mobile Network Code ( MNC ). Three - digit MNC codes are allowed by E. 212 but are mainly used in the United States and Canada. The next digits represent the mobile subscriber identification number ( MSIN ). Normally there are 10 digits, but can be fewer in the case of a 3 - digit MNC or if national regulations indicate that the total length of the IMSI should be less than 15 digits. Digits are different from country to country. Authentication key ( K ) The K is a 128 - bit value used in authenticating the SIMs on a GSM mobile network ( for USIM network, you still need K but other parameters are also needed ). Each SIM holds a unique K assigned to it by the operator during the personalization process. The K is also stored in a database ( termed authentication center or AuC ) on the carrier 's network. The SIM card is designed to prevent someone from getting the K by using the smart - card interface. Instead, the SIM card provides a function, Run GSM Algorithm, that the phone uses to pass data to the SIM card to be signed with the K. This, by design, makes using the SIM card mandatory unless the K can be extracted from the SIM card, or the carrier is willing to reveal the K. In practice, the GSM cryptographic algorithm for computing SRES_2 ( see step 4, below ) from the K has certain vulnerabilities that can allow the extraction of the K from a SIM card and the making of a duplicate SIM card. Authentication process : When the mobile equipment starts up, it obtains the international mobile subscriber identity ( IMSI ) from the SIM card, and passes this to the mobile operator, requesting access and authentication. The mobile equipment may have to pass a PIN to the SIM card before the SIM card reveals this information. The operator network searches its database for the incoming IMSI and its associated K. The operator network then generates a random number ( RAND, which is a nonce ) and signs it with the K associated with the IMSI ( and stored on the SIM card ), computing another number, that is split into the Signed Response 1 ( SRES_1, 32 bits ) and the encryption key K ( 64 bits ). The operator network then sends the RAND to the mobile equipment, which passes it to the SIM card. The SIM card signs it with its K, producing SRES_2 and K, which it gives to the mobile equipment. The mobile equipment passes SRES_2 on to the operator network. The operator network then compares its computed SRES_1 with the computed SRES_2 that the mobile equipment returned. If the two numbers match, the SIM is authenticated and the mobile equipment is granted access to the operator 's network. K is used to encrypt all further communications between the mobile equipment and the network. Location area identity The SIM stores network state information, which is received from the Location Area Identity ( LAI ). Operator networks are divided into Location Areas, each having a unique LAI number. When the device changes locations, it stores the new LAI to the SIM and sends it back to the operator network with its new location. If the device is power cycled, it takes data off the SIM, and searches for the prior LAI. SMS messages and contacts Most SIM cards store a number of SMS messages and phone book contacts. It stores the contacts in simple `` name and number '' pairs. Entries that contain multiple phone numbers and additional phone numbers are usually not stored on the SIM card. When a user tries to copy such entries to a SIM, the handset 's software breaks them into multiple entries, discarding information that is not a phone number. The number of contacts and messages stored depends on the SIM ; early models stored as few as five messages and 20 contacts, while modern SIM cards can usually store over 250 contacts. Formats From left, full - size SIM ( 1FF ), mini-SIM ( 2FF ), micro-SIM ( 3FF ), and nano - SIM ( 4FF ) Nano - SIM ( in bottom ), micro-SIM and mini-SIM, SIM brackets from Movistar in Colombia The memory chip from a micro-SIM card without the plastic backing plate, next to a US dime, which is approx. 18 mm in diameter Embedded SIM from M2M supplier Eseye with an adapter board for evaluation in a Mini-SIM socket SIM cards have been made smaller over the years ; functionality is independent of format. Full - size SIM were followed by mini-SIM, micro-SIM, and nano - SIM. SIM cards are also made to embed in devices. SIM card sizes SIM card Introduced Standard reference Length ( mm ) Width ( mm ) Thickness ( mm ) Volume ( mm ) Full - size ( 1FF ) 1991 ISO / IEC 7810 : 2003, ID - 1 85.60 53.98 0.76 3511.72 Mini-SIM ( 2FF ) ISO / IEC 7810 : 2003, ID - 000 25.00 15.00 0.76 285.00 Micro-SIM ( 3FF ) 2003 ETSI TS 102 221 V9. 0.0, Mini-UICC 15.00 12.00 0.76 136.80 Nano - SIM ( 4FF ) early 2012 ETSI TS 102 221 V11. 0.0 12.30 8.80 0.67 72.52 Embedded - SIM ( eSIM ) JEDEC Design Guide 4.8, SON - 8 ETSI TS 103 383 V12. 0.0 GSMA SGP. 22 V1. 0 6.00 5.00 < 1.00 < 30.00 Full - size SIM The full - size SIM ( or 1FF, 1st form factor ) was the first form factor to appear. It has the size of a credit card ( 85.60 mm × 53.98 mm × 0.76 mm ). Later smaller SIMs are often supplied embedded in a full - size card that they can be pushed out of. Mini-SIM The mini-SIM ( or 2FF ) card has the same contact arrangement as the full - size SIM card and is normally supplied within a full - size card carrier, attached by a number of linking pieces. This arrangement ( defined in ISO / IEC 7810 as ID - 1 / 000 ) lets such a card be used in a device that requires a full - size card -- or in a device that requires a mini-SIM card, after breaking the linking pieces. As the full - size SIM is no longer used, some suppliers refer to the mini-SIM as a `` standard SIM '' or `` regular SIM ''. Micro-SIM The micro-SIM ( or 3FF ) card has the same thickness and contact arrangements, but reduced length and width as shown in the table above. The micro-SIM was introduced by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute ( ETSI ) along with SCP, 3GPP ( UTRAN / GERAN ), 3GPP2 ( CDMA2000 ), ARIB, GSM Association ( GSMA SCaG and GSMNA ), GlobalPlatform, Liberty Alliance, and the Open Mobile Alliance ( OMA ) for the purpose of fitting into devices too small for a mini-SIM card. The form factor was mentioned in the December 1998 3GPP SMG9 UMTS Working Party, which is the standards - setting body for GSM SIM cards, and the form factor was agreed upon in late 2003. The micro-SIM was designed for backward compatibility. The major issue for backward compatibility was the contact area of the chip. Retaining the same contact area makes the micro-SIM compatible with the prior, larger SIM readers through the use of plastic cutout surrounds. The SIM was also designed to run at the same speed ( 5 MHz ) as the prior version. The same size and positions of pins resulted in numerous `` How - to '' tutorials and YouTube video with detailed instructions how to cut a mini-SIM card to micro-SIM size. The chairman of EP SCP, Dr. Klaus Vedder, said `` ETSI has responded to a market need from ETSI customers, but additionally there is a strong desire not to invalidate, overnight, the existing interface, nor reduce the performance of the cards. '' Micro-SIM cards were introduced by various mobile service providers for the launch of the original iPad, and later for smartphones, from April 2010. The iPhone 4 was the first smartphone to use a micro-SIM card in June 2010, followed by many others. Nano - SIM The nano - SIM ( or 4FF ) card was introduced on 11 October 2012, when mobile service providers in various countries started to supply it for phones that supported the format. The nano - SIM measures 12.3 × 8.8 × 0.67 mm and reduces the previous format to the contact area while maintaining the existing contact arrangements. A small rim of isolating material is left around the contact area to avoid short circuits with the socket. The nano - SIM is 0.67 mm thick, compared to the 0.76 mm of its predecessor. 4FF can be put into adapters for use with devices designed for 2FF or 3FF SIMs, and is made thinner for that purpose, but many phone companies do not recommend this. The iPhone 5, released in September 2012, was the first device to use a nano - SIM card, followed by other handsets. Embedded - SIM / embedded universal integrated circuit card ( eUICC ) An upcoming new type of SIM is called e-SIM or eSIM ( embedded SIM ). It is a non-replaceable embedded chip in SON - 8 package that is soldered directly onto a circuit board. It has M2M and remote SIM provisioning capabilities. The surface mount format provides the same electrical interface as the full size, 2FF and 3FF SIM cards, but is soldered to the circuit board as part of the manufacturing process. In M2M applications where there is no requirement to change the SIM card, this avoids the requirement for a connector, improving reliability and security. GSMA has been discussing the possibilities of a software based SIM card since 2010. While Motorola noted that eUICC is geared at industrial devices, Apple `` disagreed that there is any statement forbidding the use of an embedded UICC in a consumer product. '' in 2012, The European Commission has selected the Embedded UICC format for its in - vehicle emergency call service known as eCall. All new car models in the EU must have one by 2018 to instantly connect the car to the emergency services in case of an accident. Russia has a similar plan with the ERA - GLONASS regional satellite positioning system. Security In July 2013, Karsten Nohl, a security researcher from SRLabs, described vulnerabilities in some SIM cards that supported DES, which, despite its age, is still used by some operators. The attack could lead to the phone being remotely cloned or let someone steal payment credentials from the SIM. Further details of the research were provided at BlackHat on July 31, 2013. In response, the International Telecommunication Union said that the development was `` hugely significant '' and that it would be contacting its members. In February 2015, it was reported by The Intercept that the NSA and GCHQ had stolen the encryption keys ( Ki 's ) used by Gemalto ( the manufacturer of 2 billion SIM cards annually ), enabling these intelligence agencies to monitor voice and data communications without the knowledge or approval of cellular network providers or judicial oversight. Having finished its investigation, Gemalto claimed that it has `` reasonable grounds '' to believe that the NSA and GCHQ carried out an operation to hack its network in 2010 and 2011, but says the number of possibly stolen keys would not have been massive. Developments When GSM was already in use, the specifications were further developed and enhanced with functionality such as SMS and GPRS. These development steps are referred as releases by ETSI. Within these development cycles, the SIM specification was enhanced as well : new voltage classes, formats and files were introduced. USIM In GSM - only times, the SIM consisted of the hardware and the software. With the advent of UMTS this naming was split : the SIM was now an application and hence only software. The hardware part was called UICC. This split was necessary because UMTS introduced a new application, the universal subscriber identity module ( USIM ). The USIM brought, among other things, security improvements like the mutual authentication and longer encryption keys and an improved address book. UICC Main article : Universal integrated circuit card `` SIM cards '' in developed countries are today usually UICCs containing at least a SIM and a USIM application. This configuration is necessary because older GSM only handsets are solely compatible with the SIM ( application ) and some UMTS security enhancements do rely on the USIM ( application ). Other variants The equivalent of SIM on CDMA networks is the R - UIM ( and the equivalent of USIM is CSIM ). A virtual SIM is a mobile phone number provided by a mobile network operator that does not require a SIM card to connect phone calls to a user 's mobile phone. At the 2015 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Simless, Inc., a US - based startup unveiled world 's first GSM phone without a SIM card slot. The reference phone was capable of downloading multiple virtual SIM cards over-the - air. Usage in mobile phone standards The use of SIM cards is mandatory in GSM devices. The satellite phone networks Iridium, Thuraya and Inmarsat 's BGAN also use SIM cards. Sometimes, these SIM cards work in regular GSM phones and also allow GSM customers to roam in satellite networks by using their own SIM card in a satellite phone. Japan 's 2G PDC system ( which was shut down in 2012 ; SoftBank Mobile has already shut down PDC from March 31, 2010 ) also specifies a SIM, but this has never been implemented commercially. The specification of the interface between the Mobile Equipment and the SIM is given in the RCR STD - 27 annex 4. The Subscriber Identity Module Expert Group was a committee of specialists assembled by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute ( ETSI ) to draw up the specifications ( GSM 11.11 ) for interfacing between smart cards and mobile telephones. In 1994, the name SIMEG was changed to SMG9. Japan 's current and next generation cellular systems are based on W - CDMA ( UMTS ) and CDMA2000 and all use SIM cards. However, Japanese CDMA2000 - based phones are locked to the R - UIM they are associated with and thus, the cards are not interchangeable with other Japanese CDMA2000 handsets ( though they may be inserted into GSM / WCDMA handsets for roaming purposes outside Japan ). CDMA - based devices originally did not use a removable card, and the service for these phones bound to a unique identifier contained in the handset itself. This is most prevalent in operators in the Americas. The first publication of the TIA - 820 standard ( also known as 3GPP2 C. S0023 ) in 2000 defined the Removable User Identity Module ( R - UIM ). Card - based CDMA devices are most prevalent in Asia. The equivalent of a SIM in UMTS is called the universal integrated circuit card ( UICC ), which runs a USIM application. The UICC is still colloquially called a SIM card. SIM card for Thuraya satellite phone KDDI 's au IC - Card NTT DoCoMo 's FOMA Card UMTS modem with Beeline 's SIM card SIM card and the mobile phone Three UK SIM Card with Packaging Chunghwa Telecom 's LTE Card China Mobile 's LTE SIM card H2O Wireless prepaid SIM card Hotlink ( Maxis ) nano - SIM card Dual SIM slots as shown on Chinese cell phone Deutsche Telekom nano - SIM Card with NFC capabilities in the SIM tray of an iPhone 6s Deutsche Telekom Mini-SIM with pre-cut Micro - and Nano - SIM SIM and carriers The SIM card introduced a new and significant business opportunity for MVNOs -- mobile virtual network operators -- who lease capacity from one of the network operators rather than owning or operating a cellular telecoms network, and only provide a SIM card to their customers. MVNOs first appeared in Denmark, Hong Kong, Finland and the UK. Today they exist in over 50 countries, including most of Europe, United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia and parts of Asia, and account for approximately 10 % of all mobile phone subscribers around the world. On some networks, the mobile phone is locked to its carrier SIM card, meaning that the phone only works with SIM cards from the specific carrier. This is more common in markets where mobile phones are heavily subsidised by the carriers, and the business model depends on the customer staying with the service provider for a minimum term ( typically 12, 18 or 24 months ). SIM cards that are issued by providers with an associated contract are called SIM - only deals. Common examples are the GSM networks in the United States, Canada, Australia, the UK and Poland. Many businesses offer the ability to remove the SIM lock from a phone, effectively making it possible to then use the phone on any network by inserting a different SIM card. Mostly, GSM and 3G mobile handsets can easily be unlocked and used on any suitable network with any SIM card. In countries where the phones are not subsidised, e.g., India, Israel and Belgium, all phones are unlocked. Where the phone is not locked to its SIM card, the users can easily switch networks by simply replacing the SIM card of one network with that of another while using only one phone. This is typical, for example, among users who may want to optimise their carrier 's traffic by different tariffs to different friends on different networks, or when traveling internationally. In 2016, carriers started using the concept of automatic SIM reactivation whereby they let users reuse expired SIM cards instead of purchasing new ones when they wish to re-subscribe to that operator. This is particularly useful in countries where prepaid calls dominate and where competition drives high churn rates, as users had to return to a carrier shop to purchase a new SIM each time they wanted to churn back to an operator. SIM - only Commonly sold as a product by mobile telecommunications companies, `` SIM - only '' refers to a type of legally binding contract between a mobile network provider and a customer. The contract itself takes the form of a credit agreement and is subject to a credit check. Within a SIM - only contract the mobile network provider supplies their customer with just one piece of hardware, a SIM card, which includes an agreed amount of network usage in exchange for a monthly payment. Network usage within a SIM - only contract can be measured in minutes, text, data or any combination of these. The duration of a SIM - only contract varies depending on the deal selected by the customer, but in the UK they are available over 1, 3, 6, and 12 month periods. SIM - only contracts differ from mobile phone contracts in that they do not include any hardware other than a SIM card. In terms of network usage, SIM - only is typically more cost effective than other contracts because the provider does not charge more to offset the cost of a mobile device over the contract period. Short contract length is one of the key features of SIM - only -- made possible by the absence of a mobile device. SIM - only is increasing in popularity very quickly. In 2010 pay monthly based mobile phone subscriptions grew from 41 percent to 49 percent of all UK mobile phone subscriptions. According to German research company Gfk, 250,000 SIM - only mobile contracts were taken up in the UK during July 2012 alone, the highest figure since GfK began keeping records. Increasing smartphone penetration combined with financial concerns are leading customers to save money by moving onto a SIM - only when their initial contract term is over. Multiple - SIM devices Main article : Dual SIM Devices with two SIM slots are known as dual SIMs. Dual - SIM mobile phones usually come with two slots for SIMs, one behind the battery and another on the side of the phone, though in some devices both slots can be found on the battery tray, or on the side of the phone if the device does not have a removable battery. Multiple - SIM devices are commonplace in developing markets such as in Africa, East Asia, the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, where billing rates and variable network coverage / mode, make it desirable for consumers to use multiple SIMs from competing networks. It 's also useful when you split work and home number for better privacy. They are not common in the Western world. See also Apple SIM International Mobile Equipment Identity ( IMEI ) GSM 03.48 SIM cloning SIM connector IP Multimedia Services Identity Module ( ISIM ) W - SIM ( Willcom - SIM ) Mobile equipment identifier ( MEID ) VMAC Mobile signature Single Wire Protocol ( SWP ) SIM Application Toolkit ( STK ) Mobile broadband Tethering Smart card Regional lockout GSM USSD codes -- Unstructured Supplementary Service Data : list of standard GSM codes for network and SIM related functions Remote SIM provisioning References Jump up ^ `` 3GPP specification : 51.011 ''. Retrieved 29 April 2016. Jump up ^ `` 3GPP specification : 31.102 ''. Retrieved 29 April 2016. Jump up ^ Asif, Saad Z. ( 2011 ). Next Generation Mobile Communications Ecosystem. John Wiley & Sons. p. 306. ISBN 1119995817. Jump up ^ `` G&D - History of Giesecke & Devrient ''. Retrieved 29 April 2016. Jump up ^ `` Official Publication of the International Card Manufacturers Association February 2017 Volume 27 No1 '' ( PDF ). Retrieved 28 May 2017. Jump up ^ `` Ericsson Mobility Report November 2015 '' ( PDF ). Retrieved 28 May 2017. Jump up ^ `` GSMA Embedded SIM and RSP ''. Retrieved 28 May 2017. Jump up ^ `` PAYG Inactivity : Time For Credit Expiry & Account Termination ''. Ken 's Tech Tips. Retrieved 29 April 2016. Jump up ^ `` 3GPP specification : 11.11 ''. Retrieved 29 April 2016. Jump up ^ ITU - T, ITU - T Recommendation E. 118, The international telecommunication charge card, Revision history, Revision `` 05 / 2006 '' Jump up ^ ETSI, ETSI Recommendation GSM 11.11, Specifications of the SIM - ME Interface, Version 3.16. 0 Jump up ^ `` List of issuer identifier numbers for the international telecommunication charge card ( In accordance with Recommendation ITU - T E. 118 ( 05 / 2006 ) ) ''. International Telecommunication Union. Retrieved 10 October 2016. Links to current IIN list. Jump up ^ `` Operational Bulletin No. 1040 ( 15. XI. 2013 ) and Annexed List : List of issuer identifier numbers for the international telecommunication charge card ( In accordance with Recommendation ITU - T E. 118 ( 05 / 2006 ) ) ( Position on 15 November 2013 ) ''. International Telecommunication Union. 15 November 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2016. Jump up ^ `` Hackers crack open mobile network ''. bbc.co.uk. 20 April 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2011. Jump up ^ `` What is a microsim card ? ''. SimOnlyPro.nl. Archived from the original on 22 February 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2012. Jump up ^ Gaby Lenhart ( 1 April 2006 ). `` The Smart Card Platform ''. ETSI Technical Committee Smart Card Platform ( TB SCP ). Retrieved 30 January 2010. SCP is co-operating on both technical and service aspects with a number of other committees both within and outside the telecommunications sector. Jump up ^ Segan, Sascha ( 27 January 2010 ). `` Inside the iPad Lurks the ' Micro SIM ' ''. PC Magazine. Retrieved 30 January 2010. Jump up ^ `` DRAFT Report of the SMG9 UMTS Working Party, meeting # 7 hosted by Nokia in Copenhagen, 15 -- 16 December 1998 '' ( PDF ). 3GPP. 25 January 1999. Retrieved 27 January 2010. One manufacturer stated that it may be difficult to meeting ISO mechanical standards for a combined ID - 1 / micro-SIM card. ^ Jump up to : Antipolis, Sophia ( 8 December 2003 ). `` New form factor for smart cards introduced ''. SmartCard Trends. Archived from the original on April 26, 2010. Retrieved 30 January 2010. The work item for the so - called Third Form Factor, `` 3FF '', was agreed, after intensive discussions, at the SCP meeting held last week in London. Jump up ^ How to make MicroSIM on YouTube Jump up ^ Dr. Klaus Vedder ( 18 January 2012 ). `` The UICC -- Recent Work of ETSI TC Smart Card Platform '' ( PDF ). ETSI. p. 12. Retrieved 22 July 2012. Jump up ^ Virgin Mobile. `` An important guide to inserting your SIM into your mobile '' ( PDF ). Retrieved 21 January 2017. Jump up ^ Diana ben - Aaron ( 18 November 2010 ). `` GSMA Explores Software - Based Replacement for Mobile SIM Cards ''. Bloomberg. p. 1. Retrieved 17 October 2014. Jump up ^ Ziegler, Chris ( June 1, 2012 ). `` Embedded SIMs : they 're happening, and Apple thinks they could be in consumer products ''. The Verge. Vox Media, Inc. Retrieved October 25, 2014. Jump up ^ Bruno, Duarte ( September 27, 2014 ). `` eUICC -- embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Card ''. COSWITCHED.COM. Retrieved October 25, 2014. Jump up ^ Encryption Bug in SIM Card Can be Used to Hack Millions of Phones, published 2013 - 07 - 21, accessed 2013 - 07 - 22 ^ Jump up to : Rooting SIM cards, SR Labs, accessed 2013 - 07 - 22 Jump up ^ `` Black Hat USA 2013 ''. Retrieved 29 April 2016. Jump up ^ UPDATE 1 - UN warns on mobile cybersecurity bugs in bid to prevent attacks, Reuters, 2013 - 07 - 21, accessed 2013 - 07 - 21 Jump up ^ `` The Great SIM Heist - How Spies Stole the Keys to the Encryption Castle ''. The Intercept. The Intercept ( First Look Media ). February 19, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Gemalto : NSA / GCHQ Hack ' Probably Happened ' But Did n't Include Mass SIM Key Theft ''. techcrunch.com. February 25, 2015. Retrieved April 2, 2015. Jump up ^ Simless, Inc. `` Simless Unveils World 's First GSM Phone Without a SIM Card Slot ''. PRLog. Retrieved 29 April 2016. Jump up ^ `` Gemalto pioneers SIM reactivation ''. Retrieved 2016 - 11 - 03. Jump up ^ `` A nation addicted to smartphones ''. Ofcom. Jump up ^ `` UK sales of SIM - only mobile contracts set a new record ''. The Fone Cast. Retrieved 29 October 2012. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to SIM cards. ETSI Smart Card standards ( 102 221 ) GSM 11.11 -- Specification of the Subscriber Identity Module - Mobile Equipment ( SIM - ME ) interface. GSM 11.14 -- Specification of the SIM Application Toolkit for the Subscriber Identity Module - Mobile Equipment ( SIM - ME ) interface GSM 03.48 -- Specification of the security mechanisms for SIM application toolkit GSM 03.48 Java API -- API and realization of GSM 03.48 in Java ITU - T E. 118 -- The International Telecommunication Charge Card 2006 ITU - T Mobile phones General Features GSM services History Operating system Security Telephony airplane mode Text messaging SMS MMS Spam Tracking Web browsing HTML5 Software Apps Development Distribution Management Cloud computing Commerce Banking Marketing advertising campaigns Payments contactless donating Ticketing Content Blogging Email Gambling Gaming Health Instant messaging Learning Music News Search local Social address book Television Culture Charms Comics Dating Japanese culture Novels Ringtones silent mode Selfie Txtspk Wallpaper Devices Manufacturers 3D phone Camera phone Car phone Feature phone Projector phone Satellite phone Smartphone SIM lock Form factors Bar Flip Phablet Slider Smartwatch Smartphones Android devices rooting BlackBerry 10 iPhone iOS jailbreaking Open - source mobile phones Symbian devices Windows Phone devices Environment and health BlackBerry thumb Driving safety Electronic waste External power supply Phantom vibration syndrome Radiation and health Recycling Law Carrier IQ Use restrictions while driving Legality of recording by civilians Photography and the law Telephone tapping Texting while driving Mobile phones in prison Networking Channel capacity Frequencies Multi-band Network operator list Roaming Signal SIM ( dual SIM ) Standards comparison Tethering VoIP WAP XHTML - MP Generations 0G 1G 2G 3G adoption 3.5 G 4G 4.5 G 5G Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Subscriber_identity_module&oldid=832303504 '' Categories : American inventions Mobile phone standards Cryptographic hardware Smart cards Computer access control Hidden categories : Articles to be merged from July 2017 All articles to be merged All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from March 2014 Articles with unsourced statements from January 2012 Articles containing potentially dated statements from October 2016 All articles containing potentially dated statements Articles with unsourced statements from May 2015 All articles with failed verification Articles with failed verification from January 2018 Articles with unsourced statements from March 2011 Articles with unsourced statements from March 2016 Talk Search Contents About Wikipedia Asturianu Azərbaycanca Башҡортса Български Català Čeština Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Euskara فارسی Français 한국어 Հայերեն हिन्दी Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Italiano עברית Қазақша Latviešu Lietuvių Magyar മലയാളം मराठी Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Occitan Polski Português Русский Scots සිංහල Simple English Slovenčina Suomi Svenska தமிழ் తెలుగు ไทย Тоҷикӣ Türkçe Українська اردو Tiếng Việt 中文 42 more Edit links This page was last edited on 25 March 2018, at 03 : 46. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: what does the s stand for in sim
Answer: subscriber