CDMA Subscriber Identify Module

A CDMA Subscriber Identify Module (CSIM) is an application that runs on a removable smart card. Originally, a subset of the CSIM application ran on an R-UIM card. Recently, the application has been ported to the UICC (Universal Integrated Circuit Card), so that a card with CSIM, SIM, and USIM can operate with all cellular networks worldwide. Note that the CSIM acronym refers to 'identify' and not 'identity', unlike other 'SIM' acronyms for GSM networks. The CSIM application allows users to change phones by simply removing the smartcard from one mobile phone and inserting it into another mobile phone or broadband telephony device.

CSIM Application File System

The CSIM application contains a file system with a number of parameters needed to operate on CDMA networks. Each parameter is specified with a unique identifier with an implicit or explicit length, and is considered a separate 'file'. Here, we just give some example files, for a full list, the reader should refer to the specification [http://www.3gpp2.org/Public_html/Specs/C.S0065-0%20v1.0_060630.pdf 3GPP2 C.S0065-v1.0.pdf] .

* Encryption keys, provisioned by the operator
* Phone Number
* Call Counts
* Short Message Service Parameters
* Received Short Messages (255 bytes maximum per message)
* IMSI (international mobile subscriber identifier)
* TMSI (temporary mobile surbscriber identifer, for position security)
* UIM_ID (hardware identifier)
* MEID (hardware identifier)
* Analog (AMPS) operational parameters
* CDMA home identifiers, such as SID and NID
* CDMA zone-based registration parameters, telling the handset to register when it changes to a new operator-defined zone (SID/NID)
* CDMA distance-based registration parameters, telling the handset to register when it travels a certain distance (each CDMA transmitter emits its GPS location)
* Random parameters (slot cycle index) to use during CSMA access probes
* List of services available. If a service is not indicated as available in the CSIM, the mobile equipment shall not select this service. Examples include "Call Control", "SMS", "BCMCS Broadcast", "IP Location", etc. If a service is not in this table, the handset will not provide the service.