iSMS fully supports MNP in Malaysia — your SMS reaches the right recipient regardless of which operator they are currently on.
Mobile Number Portability (MNP) allows mobile subscribers in Malaysia to keep their existing phone number when switching from one mobile operator to another. For example, a customer can move from Maxis to Celcom — or from Digi to U Mobile — while retaining the same mobile number they have always used.
MNP was introduced in Malaysia by the MCMC (Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission) to increase competition among operators and give consumers freedom of choice without the inconvenience of changing their number.
When a subscriber ports their number, their MSISDN (phone number) moves to a new operator while their original number prefix may still appear to belong to the old operator. Without MNP support, SMS sent based on prefix alone would be routed incorrectly, resulting in delivery failures.
iSMS resolves this by querying the MNP database before routing each message, ensuring delivery is directed to the correct operator's SMSC.
Send to any Malaysian mobile number via iSMS portal or API
Our system looks up the current operator holding that number
Message is routed to the right operator SMSC and delivered
| Term | Meaning | MNP Relevance |
|---|---|---|
| IMSI | International Mobile Subscriber Identity — unique ID burned into the SIM card, used for network authentication | When a subscriber ports, a new IMSI is assigned by the new operator. The old IMSI becomes inactive. |
| MSISDN | The actual phone number (e.g. 60123456789). Stored at operator level, not on the SIM card. | The MSISDN remains unchanged after porting — only the operator association changes. This is what makes MNP possible. |
| SMSC | Short Message Service Centre — the telco server that handles SMS delivery | After porting, the MSISDN must be routed to the new operator's SMSC, not the original operator's. |
| HLR | Home Location Register — the database of all subscribers on a GSM network | HLR lookup is used to verify the current network holding a number, identifying ported numbers before routing. |
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