Physical SIM

Subscriber Identity Module – A piece of hardware that can be inserted into SIM slot of a user equipment, for the purpose of connecting to a mobile service provided by a mobile service provider. Usually a small plastic card with a circuit on it.

PoP

A point of presence (PoP) is a demarcation point, access point, or physical location at which two or more networks or communication devices share a connection. Points of presence include routers, switches, servers, and other devices necessary for traffic to cross over networks.

RAN

Radio Access Network “The part of a mobile network that connects end-user devices, like smartphones, to the cloud. This is achieved by sending information via radio waves from end-user devices to a RAN’s transceivers, and finally from the tranceivers to the core network which connects to the global internet” Read Full Definition from Red Hat

SGW

Serving Gateway – A network element of EPC routes and forwards user data packets towards the PGW via GTP sessions, and acts as the mobility anchor for the user plane during inter-eNodeB handovers.

SIM

Subscriber Identity Module – The technology that securely stores a users identification information for use on a specific mobile network.

UE

User Equipment – Legacy term for a mobile device