SIM
Technology & Computing abbreviation · Telecom
| Stands for | Subscriber Identity Module |
|---|---|
| Categories | Technology & Computing |
SIM stands for Subscriber Identity Module, a telecom abbreviation.
Smart card in a mobile phone that stores the subscriber's identity and secret authentication key, linking the device to a carrier account and phone number. Moving the SIM moves the number to another phone.
Example: Put the local SIM in your phone when you land so you avoid roaming charges.
Usage notes
German company Giesecke+Devrient produced the first commercial SIM cards for the Finnish operator Radiolinja in 1991. Formats shrank from credit-card size to mini-SIM, micro-SIM (popularized by the iPad in 2010) and nano-SIM (iPhone 5, 2012). A SIM PIN protects the card, and the PUK unlocks it after wrong entries. Criminals use "SIM swap" fraud to hijack numbers and intercept security codes.
Related abbreviations
More telecom abbreviations
- RF – Radio frequency
- RFID – Radio-frequency identification
- RJ11 – Registered Jack 11
- RSSI – Received signal strength indicator
- SAR – Specific absorption rate
- SDR – Software-defined radio
- SMS – Short Message Service
- T1 – Transmission System 1
- TDD – Time-division duplex
- TDMA – Time-division multiple access
- TTY – Teletypewriter (Unix terminal)
- UC – Unified communications