APN
An access point name selects the gateway a mobile data session uses, from the public internet to a private enterprise network.
Definitions only — a term explained here is not a service we sell.
An access point name (APN) is the string a device sends to select the gateway a data session uses. The APN picks the exit; it does not set security.
The data exit an APN selects
- Device
- Radio access (RAN)
- Mobile core
- APN
- Gateway
- Public internet
Text description
The device requests a session with a provisioned APN string. The core resolves that string to a gateway, assigns an address and applies the routing policy tied to it. The gateway then sends traffic to the public internet.
How the string selects a gateway
The APN has two parts: a network identifier the operator chooses and an operator identifier built from MCC and MNC. When the device requests a session, the network checks the subscription, resolves the APN to a gateway (GGSN, PGW or, in 5G, an SMF selected by DNN) and assigns an address.
Public, private and what to check
A public APN shares a gateway and an address pool and usually reaches the internet directly. A private APN is a separate gateway context for one enterprise, often linked to the customer network over IPsec or a private line, with fixed addresses. The APN alone does not make a session private: a device with the right APN but an internet breakout is still on the public internet. Confirm the exact string, the authentication (usually none, PAP or CHAP), the address family and the DNS servers. Check the APN generator output against the provisioning record, including case.