Appropriate uses
- Learning how telecommunications identifiers are structured
- Demonstrating checksum and prefix-matching concepts
- Comparing public numbering plans and allocation systems
- Conducting approved academic research with suitable safeguards
- Testing software with synthetic or properly authorised data
- Teaching cell tower multilateration with sample coordinates
Prohibited uses
- Identifying, tracking or monitoring a person without authority
- Harassment, surveillance, fraud or social engineering
- Testing stolen, leaked or unlawfully obtained identifiers
- Claiming a lookup proves ownership, identity or criminal status
- Automated bulk extraction that disrupts the educational service
Use results proportionately
A lookup may confirm structure, checksum or an allocation recorded in the dataset. It cannot establish that a device is genuine, that a person owns it, that a subscriber is active, or that an originally allocated operator still provides service.
Teaching guidance
Lecturers should provide synthetic examples, explain the limits of inference, and discourage students from experimenting with identifiers copied from real people or devices. Research involving personal data should receive the appropriate ethical and data-protection review.
Do not use the cell tower calculator to track a person. Use the supplied examples unless you have permission to work with the measurements and your institution has approved the work where necessary.