General Questions
What is a HLR Lookup?
A HLR Lookup is a request to a Mobile Operator which can return the current status and the ported information for mobile numbers around the world.
What information is returned with a HLR Lookup?
Where full coverage is available we can tell you the Current Status of your phone numbers alongside the Original Network that the number was assigned to and the Current Network, indicating if the number has been ported.
For LIVE mobile numbers you'll also see the Original and Current MCC MNC (Mobile Country Code and Mobile Network Code), the country prefix, the country ISO code and the number type.
What are the benefits of HLR to my business?
A HLR Lookup can help businesses in many ways.
Knowing the status of your numbers allows you to keep your data clean and contactable, saving you time and keeping costs down when marketing, generating leads or verifying your customers.
Having up to date information on the network operators your customers belong to allows you to utilise least cost routing and provides a valuable insight on the behaviour of your potential customers.
For more information on possible uses of a HLR Lookup take a look at our HLR Lookup use cases.
I’ve lost my phone, can you help me trace it?
No. Our service does not provide the location of any number.
A HLR Lookup can only provide the current status and the network information for your numbers.
Do you use cached results?
All HLR Lookups are performed at the time of your request so all the responses you receive are in real time.
You have the option to use your own Personal Cache (up to 30 days) or our Global Cache (up to 30 days) but this is entirely optional.
We will not use any cached results unless you specifically agree for us to do so. For further information on utilising the cache please take a look in our Knowledge Base
How fast will my results be returned?
Lookups are made in real time to the operator so the majority of the time taken is waiting for the operator to respond to our request.
This means speeds can vary depending on the operator but you should expect to see an average latency on our API of 1.5 seconds and an average batch completion time of 40 minutes per 100,000 numbers.
Can I get the connectivity status for Landline numbers?
Yes if your landline numbers are from the UK or Ireland.
To do this you need to specifically request that you want to obtain the status of your landlines when you send us your number(s).
You can do this when using the API or when uploading your numbers within a file.
What is "Ported Date" and how is that useful?
For 51 different countries (currently) we can provide the last ported date for your numbers that have ported away from their Original Network.
Knowing the ported date can help customers improve their fraud protection methods by combatting an increasing risk known as ‘port-out fraud’. This is where a criminal tries to hijack your number by transferring your number to their own carrier and then uses your number as their own.
As our ported date information is collected daily it makes it easy to notice if a number has recently changed carriers indicating a higher risk of fraud, allowing your customers to manage the situation accordingly.
Knowledge of the ported date information can also be used by networks operators and phone companies that sell or upgrade phone contracts and handsets. Knowing when a customer has last ported their number is valuable information when targeting new mobile phone contract and handset sales, especially for those users that are coming towards the end of their contract.
To access our Ported Date feature you need to specify you want this information when sending us your number(s). You can do this through the API or when uploading a file containing your numbers.