Point code

An <a href="/facts/Signalling_System_No._7/YJ3T8VqE">SS7</a> point code is an address for the SS7 telephone switching system. It is similar to an <a href="/facts/IP_address/z9V22Sw9">IP address</a> in an IP network. It is a unique address for a node (Signaling Point, or SP), used in <a href="/facts/Message_Transfer_Part/tzNuwGfm">MTP layer 3</a> to identify the destination of a message signal unit (MSU).
Message contain an OPC (Originating Point Code) and a DPC (Destination Point Code); sometimes documents refer to it as a signaling point code. Depending on the network, a point code can be 24 bits (North America, China), 16 bits (Japan), or 14 bits (ITU standard, International SS7 network and most countries) in length.
<a href="/facts/ANSI/p3d1TQCb">ANSI</a> point codes use 24 bits, mostly in 8-8-8 format. <a href="/facts/ITU/xnT5QSEl">ITU</a> point codes use 14 bits in 3-8-3 format.
Fourteen bit point codes can be written in multiple formats. The most common are decimal number, hexadecimal number, or 3-8-3 format (3 most significant bits, 8 middle bits, 3 least significant bits).
Twenty-four bit point codes may be written in decimal, hexadecimal, or 8-8-8 format.

Point code open-in-new

Point code