Mobile Equipment IDentifiers (MEID)

A Mobile Equipment IDentifier (MEID) is a globally unique 56-bit identification number for a physical piece of mobile station equipment. Equipment identifiers are "burned" into a device and should be resistant to modification. They are used as a means to facilitate mobile equipment identification and tracking. Additionally, MEIDs are coordinated with International Mobile Equipment Identifiers (IMEIs), facilitating global roaming and harmonization between 3G technologies as a universal mobile equipment identifier.

 
The MEID is a 14-digit hexadecimal value. The MEID is capable of being transmitted over the air upon a request from the network. The MEID is composed mainly of two basic components, the manufacturer code and the serial number, as follows: 
 
 
All of these fields are defined as hexadecimal values with the following valid range.
  • RR - valid range A0 . FF - globally administered
  • XXXXXX - valid range 000000. FFFFFF
  • ZZZZZZ - valid range 000000. FFFFFF
  • C - valid range 0. F - The Check Digit (CD) is not part of the MEID and is not transmitted when the MEID is transmitted.(see TIA-928).
In the case of MEIDs for terminals designed to comply with both 3GPP and 3GPP2 specifications (i.e., multimode terminals), all these fields are defined as decimal values with the following valid range: 
  • RR - valid range '99', '98', '97'. - globally administered
  • XXXXXX - valid range 000000. 999999
  • ZZZZZZ - valid range 000000. 999999
  • C - valid range 0 . 9
How is TIA involved?
TIA serves as the Global Hexadecimal Administrator (GHA) to assign MEID manufacturer codes. TIA also coordinates with the International Mobile Equipment Identifier (IMEI) Global Decimal Administrator (GDA), the GSM Association, to administer codes for multi-mode equipment. Support in standards is rapidly being developed. The TIA Committee TR-45 ESN/UIM/MEID Ad Hoc, in cooperation with 3GPP2, is actively working with industry to assist a smooth transition from ESN to MEID. The following library of MEID documents is intended to assist the MEID understanding and migration from the finite ESN numbering resource to MEID:

Industry Correspondence Related to Migration from ESN and UIM_ID to MEID and E-UIM_ID

Guidelines/Process

MEID Assignments

The Global Hexadecimal Administrator (GHA) publishes a quarterly administrator's report, available upon request by materially- and directly-affected parties.
Application Process
There is a fee for filing MEID application assignments. The fee chart is available here. Applicants are required to request MEID assignments from the GHA by completing and transmitting FORM A (see below). Once the form is received, the GHA will inform the applicant of the required fee. Assignments will NOT be processed until payment has been received.
Forms

Information on UIM (User Identity Module) and E-UIM (Expanded User Identity Module) used in R-UIM (Removable User Identity Module) Cards

The UIM_ID is a 32-bit identification number for the Removable User Identity Module card (R-UIM). Each UIM_ID is meant to be unique, i.e., different from any other assigned UIM_ID and Electronic Serial Number (ESN). The UIM_ID shares the same numbering space with the ESN. It is anticipated that the 32-bit numbering space for both the UIM_ID and the ESN will be exhausted completely in the near future.
 
An Expanded R-UIM identifier (E-UIM_ID) solution is needed to address issues associated with the impending exhaustion of the existing 32-bit UIM_ID/ESN numbering space. The purpose of introducing a new identifier is to define a larger numbering space.

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