Consultation: Global Titles and Mobile Network Security

Ofcom is the administrator of UK telephone numbers, which we allocate to mobile operators, who create Global Titles from some of these numbers. These Global Titles are used to send and receive signals that help locate and connect mobile phone users to networks and to one another.  

Global Titles enable access to the global mobile signalling network and in the wrong hands they can be misused to try and intercept messages and calls, disrupt the operation of networks and track the location of users of other networks.  

We are therefore proposing to strengthen our existing rules and introduce new rules to tackle misuse of Global Titles, in particular by:

• banning leasing of Global Titles to third parties by operators that hold UK mobile numbers;
• banning the creation of Global Titles from sub-allocated numbers by third parties;
• strengthening our rules to prohibit the misuse of Global Titles by operators that hold UK mobile numbers; and
• strengthening our rules to prohibit the creation of Global Titles from numbers not allocated for use.

Taken together, these proposals should significantly reduce malicious signalling from UK Global Titles, thereby providing material benefits to UK and international citizens. They should also enhance the transparency and accountability of operators that use Global Titles.

Implementation

We propose that the rules to prohibit misuse of Global Titles by operators that hold UK mobile numbers and the rules to prohibit the creation of Global Titles from numbers not allocated for use should come into force immediately after the publication of our final decision. We propose that the ban on leasing, alongside the ban on creating Global Titles from sub-allocated numbers, should come into force from 1 January 2026. 

We are consulting on our proposals until 15 October 2024 and will publish our decision in due course. 

Responding to this consultation

Please submit responses by using this response form.