What is MCC and MNC? Mobile Country & Network Codes Explained

The ITU Numbering Standard Behind It

Both codes are defined by ITU-T Recommendation E.212 — "The international identification plan for public networks and subscriptions". The ITU assigns MCC values to countries (or territories), and each country's regulator then assigns MNCs to licensed mobile operators. The combination MCC + MNC is called a PLMN (Public Land Mobile Network) identifier, and it's globally unique.

MCC — Mobile Country Code

MCC is always 3 digits. The first digit roughly corresponds to a geographic zone, the same as the ITU telephone zone numbering:

Some countries have multiple MCCs:

• USA — 310, 311, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316 (ran out of MNCs in 310, expanded)
• India — 404 and 405 (22 telecom circles; 404 is mostly historic, 405 added to accommodate new MNOs)
• Canada — 302 (shared with some Caribbean territories)

Some small territories share MCCs with their parent countries (UK overseas territories with 234/235, French territories with 208, etc.).

MNC — Mobile Network Code

MNC is 2 or 3 digits depending on region:

• 2-digit MNC — used in Europe, most of Asia, Africa. E.g., MCC 234 MNC 15 = Vodafone UK.
• 3-digit MNC — used in USA, Canada, most of the Americas. E.g., MCC 310 MNC 410 = AT&T Mobility USA.

The same operator may hold multiple MNCs — for different brands, different regions, or legacy reasons. AT&T alone holds over 20 MNCs (310/150, 310/170, 310/280, 310/410, 310/560, 310/680, etc.) across its various business units and acquired networks. Airtel India holds a different MNC per telecom circle (one per state/region).

How They Live Inside a SIM Card

Every SIM card stores an IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity) which embeds the MCC and MNC:

IMSI = MCC (3 digits) + MNC (2 or 3 digits) + MSIN (9 or 10 digits)

Example:  234 15 012345678
          ↑   ↑  ↑
          │   │  └── MSIN (the unique subscriber ID within the operator)
          │   └───── MNC 15 = Vodafone UK
          └───────── MCC 234 = United Kingdom

Total: 15 digits maximum.

When the phone powers up, it broadcasts this IMSI to authenticate with the network. The visited network's MME/AMF looks at the MCC+MNC prefix to find out which home network to contact for authentication and session setup. This is the technical foundation of mobile roaming.

PLMN: The MCC+MNC Combination

MCC+MNC together is called a PLMN ID. It uniquely identifies any mobile operator on Earth. Phones maintain a list of home/preferred PLMNs in the SIM — when roaming, the phone scans all nearby PLMNs and picks one based on this preference list plus operator-set roaming agreements.

In 3GPP specs, you'll see PLMN IDs written as:

• 234-15 or 23415 — Vodafone UK
• 310-260 or 310260 — T-Mobile US
• 460-00 or 46000 — China Mobile

How MCC/MNC Is Used in Practice

1. SIM Provisioning

When an operator issues a SIM, it burns the home PLMN (MCC+MNC) into the SIM. This tells the phone "you belong to this network". Without it, the phone can't authenticate.

2. Network Selection (Roaming)

The phone scans available networks, gets their PLMN IDs from system information broadcasts, and picks one. Priority: home PLMN > preferred roaming PLMN (operator's roaming partners) > any permitted PLMN > manually selected.

3. Routing Mobile-Originated Traffic

SMS, voice calls, and data all use the MCC+MNC to figure out where subscribers "live". When you send an SMS to a roaming subscriber, the SMSC reads the IMSI's MCC+MNC prefix to determine the home operator and routes accordingly.

4. Number Portability Lookup

Number portability means the E.164 phone number no longer reliably identifies the home operator. But the IMSI still does — the MCC+MNC on the SIM always points to the current operator, even if the number was ported. This is why HLR Lookup returns both the original number's operator and the current (post-port) operator.

5. Billing and Roaming Settlement

When a subscriber roams in a visited network, the visited operator records the usage and charges the home operator based on TAP3 (Transferred Account Procedure) files. The PLMN ID is the primary key in every billing record.

Common MCC/MNC Examples

Special MCCs

• MCC 001 — Test PLMN, reserved for network testing and sandbox labs
• MCC 901 — International, used by satellite operators (Inmarsat, Iridium, Thuraya, Globalstar) and some international/MVNO networks
• MCC 902 — Coverage extension for satellite/aerial (newer, still being developed)
• MCC 998 — Reserved, future assignment

Related Concepts

A few related identifiers often confused with MCC/MNC:

• IMSI — full 15-digit subscriber identity (MCC + MNC + MSIN)
• MSISDN — the phone number (E.164 format, e.g., +447700900000)
• IMEI — device identity (15 digits), tied to the handset, not the SIM
• ICCID — SIM card serial number (up to 22 digits)
• SID / NID — CDMA equivalents (System ID / Network ID), used in CDMA2000 networks

Key Takeaways

1. MCC = 3-digit country identifier, MNC = 2 or 3-digit operator identifier.
2. Together they form a PLMN ID, the unique identifier for any mobile network.
3. Every SIM card stores its home PLMN, which determines authentication, routing, and billing.
4. Number portability doesn't change the SIM's MCC+MNC — so IMSI-based lookups are more reliable than phone-number lookups.
5. Large operators hold multiple MNCs across brands, regions, or historic acquisitions.

Browse the full list in our MCC/MNC Database — nearly 3,000 entries across 231 countries.