Numbering Plan

A numbering plan defines the format and assignment of telephone numbers within a country or region, including area codes, mobile ranges, premium and toll-free ranges. National numbering plans operate within the global ITU-T E.164 framework, and are managed by the national regulator. Misallocation or reuse of number ranges has direct fraud and routing implications.

Categories: Radio Access NetworkFraudProtocols and Standards

Numbering Plan in context

The radio access network is where mobile devices attach to the operator's infrastructure. Attacks in this layer include IMSI catching, rogue base stations and downgrade attacks; defenses rest on mutual authentication, integrity-protected signaling and Open RAN supply-chain hygiene.

Telecom fraud costs operators an estimated $40+ billion per year. Common vectors include IRSF, Wangiri callback scams, SIM box bypass, PBX hacking and A2P grey routing.

To place Numbering Plan in the wider telecom-security picture, review 5GNR, 6G, ADSL, Billing System, Blue Team and DOCSIS — each entry cross-references back to this page so you can walk the topic in either direction.

Related terms

More from the TelcoSec Glossary

Browse the full TelcoSec Glossary, the Ultimate Guide to Mobile Network Security, or the P1 Arsenal of telecom-security tools.