An HLR lookup is a procedure that verifies details about a mobile phone number, like its network location and status, with HLR meaning Home Location Register. The HLR serves as a centralized database for mobile operators to store important information about their subscribers, including tariff plans, phone numbers, location, and roaming status. Additionally, there is a service for validating phone numbers to verify their validity, activity, and ability to receive messages or calls. These services can help improve deliverability and reduce the risks associated with missing or incorrect contact list data.
How Does an HLR Lookup Work, and What Is Its Relevance in the Industry?
The HLR Lookup is the process by which the HLR (Home Location Register) database is queried to obtain information about telephone numbers. This process is used to check details about a phone number, such as its status, mobile network, and location (country or area).
As Infobip mentions, “Note that all mobile operators that deliver services on 2G and 3G networks will have their own HLR. 4G and 5G networks have separate databases for the same purpose.”
As for how it works, an HLR lookup uses a unique IMSI and the MSISDN number to query the HLR of the network the user registered with. So, through these, the process can:
- Verify the status of the number, whether it is active, inactive, ported to another network, or invalid.
- Identify the country where the number is located without providing confidential details about the user’s precise location.
- Identification of the current mobile network in which the number is located, including whether it has been ported.
HLR Lookup is not a very common term, but it is of great importance to certain fields that depend on mobile communication, such as marketing, telecommunications, and financial services. By using this process, quite a few advantages are gained. The first and most targeted is the reduction of costs because it avoids sending SMS or calls to numbers that are no longer active or valid.
Then there is the question of increasing security, which is a great advantage in the financial field because it is used to authenticate users or prevent fraud. For the marketing field, this feature helps optimize campaigns by ensuring that messages are not sent to invalid or inactive numbers.
Last but not least, it improves deliverability by identifying updated networks, thus ensuring that messages are sent correctly. So, HLR lookup helps companies increase efficiency and maintain reliable communication, being an important tool in the field of telecommunications.
What Is the Difference Between HLR and VLR?
Unlike HLR, VLR stands for Visitor Location Register and is a temporary database associated with specific geographic areas. VLR stores information about users in a certain coverage area, regardless of whether they are local subscribers or visitors from other networks. However, one similarity is that it also includes details such as IMSI, MSISDN, and the temporary location address needed to route calls and messages.
However, the main difference between HLR and VLR is determined by the duration and purpose of data storage. VLR operates locally and temporarily, coordinating the activity of users in transit, and HLR has a centralized role in managing permanent subscriber data.
What is a Phone Validation Service, and What is It Used?
A phone validation service is an operation that allows the validation and verification of phone numbers to ensure that they are active, correct, and capable of receiving calls or messages. This type of service aims to analyze various aspects of a phone number, even the associated operator, the format and type of the number (mobile or landline), and in some cases, even its geographical location within the limits of privacy. The main purpose of the phone validation service is to improve the efficiency of marketing campaigns, customer support services, and authentication systems while reducing the risks of interacting with incorrect data.
A phone number validation service can be used in various areas, including:
- Customer support by verifying customer contact numbers and their validity and correctness.
- Marketing campaigns through messages because the phone validation service ensures the redirection of messages to real and active recipients, thus improving the response rate and reducing costs.
- Message authentication in 2FA (two-factor authentication) processes and phone number validation help to ensure that only valid numbers are used and prevent errors.
What Is the Importance of the Phone Validation Service?
A phone number validation service is essential for businesses that depend on phone contacts to meet their marketing, sales, or customer service goals. Without proper number validation, there is a risk of losing valuable contacts and penalties from service providers or messaging platforms, which may flag incorrect numbers as spam.
Sending messages or making calls to incorrect or inactive numbers may result in the company being labeled as a spam source, potentially resulting in total communication blockage. Ensuring the accuracy of numbers prevents these problems and safeguards the reputation of the brand.
Additionally, number validation helps increase overall business efficiency by saving time and money by eliminating invalid numbers. It is a powerful tool, especially when managing large contact lists or SMS marketing campaigns.
Conclusion
Both phone validation service and HLR functions are important tools for companies that want to optimize the efficiency and success of their mobile communications. A phone validation system allows the verification and validation of phone numbers, ensuring that they are active, correct, and capable of receiving calls or messages. This helps avoid messages or calls to invalid numbers, saving resources and protecting brand reputation.
Conversely, the HLR system gives specific data on a phone number’s status, including the carrier, location, type, and roaming status. This tool is beneficial for telecommunications companies and marketing firms because it helps them improve message delivery and enhance SMS marketing campaigns.
Together, these two services aid in the establishment of a precise and current database, decreasing the chances of sending messages to inactive or unreachable numbers. In a business environment that is becoming more interconnected, using these technologies correctly is essential for the lasting success of marketing efforts and enhancing user satisfaction.
