E.118

E.118
The international telecommunication charge card
Payphone for use of cardErasmo Byron
Status	In force
Year started	1988
Latest version	05/06 May 2006
Organization	ITU-T
Committee	Study Group 1
Website	https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-E.118

E.118 is an international standard that defines the international telecommunication charge card, for use in payphones.¹ It also defines the Integrated Circuit Card Identifier (ICCID), which is used in Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs, including SIM cards and eSIMs).² The standard was first developed in 1988 by what became the Standardization Sector of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU-T) with several revisions having been published since then.

The E.118 standard was first developed by the precursor to the ITU-T, International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee (CCITT, in the French acronym)³ and it was adopted by its governing body the World Telecommunication Standardization Conference (WTSC), as its 1988 meeting.¹ Since then it has been revised several times by Study Group 1, most recently in 1996.

The Integrated Circuit Card Identifier (ICCID) is a number to internationally identify callers, called a 'Primary Account Number', used i.a. in SIM cards including eSIM cards. Its layout is based on ISO/IEC 7812.⁴ The ICCID is made up of:

Issuer identification number (IIN)

Maximum of seven digits:

• Major industry identifier (MII), 2 fixed digits, 89 for telecommunication purposes.
• Country calling code, 1 to 3 digits, as defined by ITU-T recommendation E.164.
  • North American Numbering Plan countries use 1
  • Russia uses 7
  • Kazakhstan uses 997, even though it also uses the calling code +7
• Issuer identifier, 1–4 digits (together Country calling code and Issuer Identifier is no more than 5 digits).
  • Often identical to the Mobile Network Code (MNC).

Individual account identification

• Individual account identification number. Its length is variable, but every number under one IIN has the same length.
  • Often identical to the Mobile Subscription Identification Number (MSIN).

Check digit

• Single digit calculated from the other digits using the Luhn algorithm.

E.118 stipulates that the ITU-T updates a list of all current internationally assigned IIN codes in its Operational Bulletins which are published twice a month.⁵