Today’s mobile networks support far more than smartphones. Smartwatches, routers, wearables, industrial gateways, and machine-to-machine (M2M) endpoints now make up a significant share of devices connecting to mobile infrastructure — and the trend is accelerating.
This growing diversity creates new opportunities for innovation and customer engagement. But it also brings fresh operational challenges. Each device type introduces different behaviours, technical requirements, and lifecycle patterns — adding complexity to network planning, service delivery, and risk management.
For Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), one question becomes critical:
Do you truly understand what’s connecting to your network — and how those devices are impacting it?
Turning Raw IMEI Data into Actionable Insight with GSMA Device Map
GSMA Device Map transforms basic device identifiers into rich, real-time intelligence.
Built on a continuously updated global database, Device Map enables MNOs and service providers to interpret IMEI data with confidence — providing full visibility into the devices using their network.
With GSMA Device Map, operators can access detailed intelligence on:
- Comprehensive Device Identification
Easily recognise and classify devices with detailed attributes including end device type, brand, model name, marketing name, manufacturer, release year, and number of supported SIM and eSIM profiles. - Detailed Hardware Intelligence
Get visibility into primary hardware type (e.g. smartphone, tablet, watch, M2M), screen size, chipset, camera specs, CPU architecture, clock speed, RAM, and device roles in IoT (endpoint, enabler, or controller). - Operating System Insights
Understand OS distribution across your network with minimum supported OS versions (e.g. Android 8, iOS 11), helping assess upgrade cycles, compatibility, and app readiness. - Advanced Network Protocols and Capabilities
Identify support for key protocols such as 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, LTE Category, RCS, VoLTE, and VoWiFi. Access performance indicators including MIMO support, QAM levels, and carrier aggregation band data to anticipate capacity, coverage, and user experience challenges. - Carrier Aggregation & Performance Readiness
Understand uplink and downlink capabilities, including which devices can take advantage of high-speed 4G and 5G performance through CA—crucial for optimising spectral efficiency.
This deeper visibility allows teams across the business to move from identification to action — enabling smarter planning, more effective customer engagement, stronger fraud controls, and improved support workflows.
High-Impact Use Cases Across Your Organisation
Click on each use case to find out how GSMA Device Map can help your organisation.
Marketing & Customer Retention
Marketing & Customer Retention
Drive revenue with highly targeted campaigns and tailored upgrade journeys:
- Identify customers with legacy or 3G-only devices to offer timely upgrades
- Detect high-capability devices on low data plans (upsell opportunity)
- Spot low-capability devices on expensive plans (retention risk)
- Target high-churn-risk profiles based on device age or usage patterns
Network Planning & Optimisation
Network Planning & Optimisation
Plan smarter, deploy efficiently and help protect your network:
- Assess 5G readiness — including SA vs NSA capabilities — across the subscriber base
- Inform 2G/3G phase-out by identifying active devices at risk
- Differentiate phones vs IoT devices to tailor communications and mitigation strategies
- Allocate capacity based on actual device traffic demand
- Detect IMEI anomalies such as duplication, invalid TACs, or legacy TACs in CDRs
- Detect unauthorised device access and identify fraudulent use of network services
Customer Support Enablement
Customer Support Enablement
Improve support efficiency with real-time device context:
- Instantly identify what device a customer is using — be it a smartwatch, smartphone, router, or gateway
- Resolve issues faster by tailoring support to device capabilities
- Boost customer experience and NPS through more relevant assistance
IoT and M2M Intelligence
IoT and M2M Intelligence
Gain control over the fastest-growing segment of network usage:
- Segment consumer vs M2M device usage
- Detect rate plan abuse and signalling-only connections
- Inform IoT pricing and policy strategies with accurate device insights
- Track NB-IoT vs LTE-M growth for IoT-specific planning
Enabling Better Analytics at Scale
Enabling Better Analytics at Scale
Device Map simplifies reporting by resolving the fragmentation between TACs, models, and families. For example, the Samsung Galaxy S20 family includes 51 distinct models, with a total of 641 TACs issued to date — making consistent analytics challenging without a unified view.
Device Map provides two key levels of aggregation:
- TAC to device model
- Device model to product family
This makes reporting faster, clearer, and more accurate for internal teams and partners alike.
Ready to see how GSMA Device Map can work for you?
If you’d like to learn more about GSMA Device Map, how it can enhance your device intelligence capabilities, and explore the live demo for real-time device insights and verification, please get in touch by completing the form below.