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64-544: Mobile service by EriTel started in March 2004 and service has grown considerably since inception. EriTel, as of 2013, has nearly 358,000 users, though access to SIM cards are severely restricted, requiring applications to the government. EriTel operates a GSM 900 network which covers almost all major urban areas including: Asmara , Embatkala, Ghinda , Massawa , Dekemhare , Mendefera , Keren , Adi Keyh , Barentu , Teseney , Agordat , Sawa, and Nakfa . This branch of EriTel

128-415: A European article number (EAN) required when registering online for the subscription of a prepaid card. As of 2020, eSIM is superseding physical SIM cards in some domains, including cellular telephony. eSIM uses a software-based SIM embedded into an irremovable eUICC . The SIM card is a type of smart card , the basis for which is the silicon integrated circuit (IC) chip. The idea of incorporating

192-498: A PIN code to prevent unauthorized use. SIMs are always used on GSM phones; for CDMA phones, they are needed only for LTE -capable handsets. SIM cards are also used in various satellite phones , smart watches, computers, or cameras. The first SIM cards were the size of credit and bank cards ; sizes were reduced several times over the years, usually keeping electrical contacts the same, to fit smaller-sized devices. SIMs are transferable between different mobile devices by removing

256-412: A mobile network operator that does not require a SIM card to connect phone calls to a user's mobile phone. International Article Number The International Article Number (also known as European Article Number or EAN ) is a standard describing a barcode symbology and numbering system used in global trade to identify a specific retail product type, in a specific packaging configuration, from

320-603: A SIM application and a USIM application. This configuration is necessary because older GSM only handsets are solely compatible with the SIM application and some UMTS security enhancements rely on the USIM application. On cdmaOne networks, the equivalent of the SIM card is the R-UIM and the equivalent of the SIM application is the CSIM . A virtual SIM is a mobile phone number provided by

384-453: A bar or space is four areas. The complete EAN-13 code is thus: 4 003994 155486. By utilizing the barcode's center marker, a scanner can decode an International Article Number (EAN) by scanning one half of the barcode at a time through a helical scan at a 45-degree angle. This method reconstructs the full code from partial scans, useful when the barcode is obscured or damaged. Error detection algorithms, such as checksum verification , play

448-570: A counter for a customer. In these cases, the barcode may encode a price, quantity or weight along with a product identifier – in a retailer defined way. The product identifier may be one assigned by the Produce Electronic Identification Board (PEIB) or may be retailer assigned. Retailers who have historically used UPC barcodes tend to use GS1 prefixes starting with "02" for store-packaged products. The EAN "country code" 978 (and later 979) has been allocated since

512-480: A crucial role by identifying and correcting scanning errors, ensuring accurate decoding. Additionally, modern scanners often employ omnidirectional scanning , enhancing their ability to read barcodes at various angles. These scanners also leverage the symmetrical structure of EAN-13, allowing decoding from either direction. Error detection algorithms, like the Luhn algorithm, commonly used in checksum calculations, verify

576-564: A debate in early 2012 between a few designs created by Apple, Nokia and RIM , Apple's design for an even smaller SIM card was accepted by the ETSI. The nano-SIM (or 4FF) card was introduced in June 2012, when mobile service providers in various countries first supplied it for phones that supported the format. The nano-SIM measures 12.3 mm × 8.8 mm × 0.67 mm (0.484 in × 0.346 in × 0.026 in) and reduces

640-462: A few products. Thus if a potential manufacturer knows that it is only going to produce a few products, EAN-13 may issue it a longer manufacturer code, leaving less space for the product code. This results in more efficient use of the available manufacturer and product codes. In ISBN and ISSN, this component is used to identify the language in which the publication was issued and managed by a transnational agency covering several countries, or to identify

704-479: A first digit of "0" indicates a 12-digit UPC-A code follows. A prefix with first two digits of "45" or "49" indicates a Japanese Article Number (JAN) follows. The less commonly used 8-digit EAN-8 barcode was introduced for use on small packages, where EAN-13 would be too large. 2-digit EAN-2 and 5-digit EAN-5 are supplemental barcodes, placed on the right-hand side of EAN-13 or UPC. These are generally used in periodicals, like magazines and books, to indicate

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768-433: A market need from ETSI customers, but additionally there is a strong desire not to invalidate, overnight, the existing interface, nor reduce the performance of the cards. Micro-SIM cards were introduced by various mobile service providers for the launch of the original iPad, and later for smartphones, from April 2010. The iPhone 4 was the first smartphone to use a micro-SIM card in June 2010, followed by many others. After

832-515: A month (the last as of January 2019 was No. 1163 from 1 January 2019). ITU-T also publishes complete lists: as of August 2023, the list issued on 1 December 2018 was current, having all issuer identifier numbers before 1 December 2018. SIM cards are identified on their individual operator networks by a unique international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI). Mobile network operators connect mobile phone calls and communicate with their market SIM cards using their IMSIs. The format is: The K i

896-411: A pattern whereby each digit has two possible encodings, one of which has even parity (denoted with letter G) and one of which has odd parity (denoted with letter L). The first digit is not represented directly by a pattern of bars and spaces, but is encoded indirectly, by selecting a pattern of choices between these two encodings for the first group of 6 digits, according to the table below. All digits in

960-486: A phone containing this SIM card can connect to a maximum of only 33 or 80 networks, instead it means that the SIM card issuer can specify only up to that number of preferred networks. If a SIM is outside these preferred networks, it uses the first or best available network. Each SIM is internationally identified by its integrated circuit card identifier ( ICCID ). Nowadays ICCID numbers are also used to identify eSIM profiles, not only physical SIM cards. ICCIDs are stored in

1024-424: A signed response (SRES_1/SRES_2: see steps 3 and 4, below) from the K i has certain vulnerabilities that can allow the extraction of the K i from a SIM card and the making of a duplicate SIM card . Authentication process: The SIM stores network state information, which is received from the location area identity (LAI). Operator networks are divided into location areas, each having a unique LAI number. When

1088-452: A silicon IC chip onto a plastic card originates from the late 1960s. Smart cards have since used MOS integrated circuit chips, along with MOS memory technologies such as flash memory and EEPROM (electrically EPROM ). The SIM was initially specified by the ETSI in the specification TS 11.11. This describes the physical and logical behaviour of the SIM. With the development of UMTS ,

1152-558: A specific manufacturer. The standard has been subsumed in the Global Trade Item Number standard from the GS1 organization; the same numbers can be referred to as GTINs and can be encoded in other barcode symbologies, defined by GS1. EAN barcodes are used worldwide for lookup at retail point of sale , but can also be used as numbers for other purposes such as wholesale ordering or accounting. These barcodes only represent

1216-638: A way, that the final data digit has a weight of 3 (and thus the check digit has a weight of 1). All Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) and Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC) codes meet the next rule: Numbering the positions from the right (code aligned to the right), the odd data digits are always weight of 3 and the even data digits are always weight of 1, regardless of the length of the code. Weights for 18-digit SSCC code and GTINs (GTIN-8, GTIN-12, GTIN-13, GTIN-14): Weights for EAN-13 code: Weights for EAN-8 code: The GTIN numbers, encoded to UPC-A, EAN-8 and EAN-13, all use similar encoding. The encoded data

1280-475: Is a 128-bit value used in authenticating the SIMs on a GSM mobile network (for USIM network, the K i is still needed but other parameters are also needed). Each SIM holds a unique K i assigned to it by the operator during the personalisation process. The K i is also stored in a database (termed authentication center or AuC) on the carrier's network. The SIM card is designed to prevent someone from getting

1344-706: Is a unique code assigned to each manufacturer by the numbering authority indicated by the GS1 Prefix. All products produced by a given company will use the same manufacturer code. EAN-13 uses what are called "variable-length manufacturer codes". Assigning fixed-length 5-digit manufacturer codes, as the UCC has done until recently, means that each manufacturer can have up to 99,999 product codes.(9,999 for 3 digit GS1 prefix's) Many manufacturers do not have that many products, which means hundreds or even thousands of potential product codes are being wasted on manufacturers that only have

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1408-572: Is an acknowledged problem. EriTel controls the national gateway, which it created in partnership with USAID . EriTel assumed this infrastructure from the Postal and Telecommunications Authority once they were split into separate entities. The infrastructure that is used was laid during the Italian colonial period . It consists primarily of aging copper wire, though in the major urban centers, including Asmara, Massawa, and Keren, upgrades have been made to

1472-419: Is an identical ETSI specification with different numbering.) ETSI and 3GPP maintain the SIM specifications. The main specifications are: ETSI TS 102 223 (the toolkit for smart cards), ETSI TS 102 241 ( API ), ETSI TS 102 588 (application invocation), and ETSI TS 131 111 (toolkit for more SIM-likes). SIM toolkit applications were initially written in native code using proprietary APIs. To provide interoperability of

1536-471: Is computed modulo 10, where the weights in the checksum calculation alternate 3 and 1. In particular, since the weights are relatively prime to 10, the EAN-13 system will detect all single digit errors. It also recognizes 90% of transposition errors (all cases, where the difference between adjacent digits is not 5). The checksum is calculated as sum of products – taking an alternating weight value (3 or 1) times

1600-483: Is independent of format. Full-size SIM was followed by mini-SIM, micro-SIM, and nano-SIM. SIM cards are also made to embed in devices. JEDEC Design Guide 4.8, SON-8 GSMA SGP.22 V1.0 All versions of the non-embedded SIM cards share the same ISO/IEC 7816 pin arrangement. The full-size SIM (or 1FF, 1st form factor) was the first form factor to appear. It was the size of a credit card (85.60 mm × 53.98 mm × 0.76 mm). The mini-SIM (or 2FF) card has

1664-576: Is obsolete, some suppliers refer to the mini-SIM as a "standard SIM" or "regular SIM". The micro-SIM (or 3FF) card has the same thickness and contact arrangements, but reduced length and width as shown in the table above. The micro-SIM was introduced by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) along with SCP, 3GPP (UTRAN/GERAN), 3GPP2 (CDMA2000), ARIB , GSM Association (GSMA SCaG and GSMNA), GlobalPlatform, Liberty Alliance , and

1728-406: Is usually repeated in plain text below the barcode. The barcode consists of 95 areas (also called modules ) of equal width. Each area can be either white (represented here as 0) or black (represented as 1). From left to right: To encode the 13-digit EAN-13 number, the digits are split into 3 groups; the first digit, the first group of 6 and the last group of 6. The first group of 6 is encoded using

1792-431: The 64 KB version has room for 80 MNCs. This is used by network operators to store data on preferred networks, mostly used when the SIM is not in its home network but is roaming . The network operator that issued the SIM card can use this to have a phone connect to a preferred network that is more economic for the provider instead of having to pay the network operator that the phone discovered first. This does not mean that

1856-528: The Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) for the purpose of fitting into devices too small for a mini-SIM card. The form factor was mentioned in the December 1998 3GPP SMG9 UMTS Working Party, which is the standards-setting body for GSM SIM cards, and the form factor was agreed upon in late 2003. The micro-SIM was designed for backward compatibility. The major issue for backward compatibility was

1920-526: The 0.76 mm (0.030 in) of its predecessors. The iPhone 5 , released in September 2012, was the first device to use a nano-SIM card, followed by other handsets. In July 2013, Karsten Nohl, a security researcher from SRLabs, described vulnerabilities in some SIM cards that supported DES , which, despite its age, is still used by some operators. The attack could lead to the phone being remotely cloned or let someone steal payment credentials from

1984-525: The 1980s to reserve a Unique Country Code (UCC) prefix for EAN identifiers of published books, regardless of country of origin, so that the EAN space can catalog books by ISBNs rather than maintaining a redundant parallel numbering system. This is informally known as " Bookland ". The prefix 979 with first digit 0 is used for International Standard Music Number (ISMN) and the prefix 977 indicates International Standard Serial Number (ISSN). The manufacturer code

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2048-508: The ICCID length as an opaque data field, 10 octets (20 digits) in length, whose structure is specific to a mobile network operator . The number is composed of three subparts: Their format is as follows. Issuer identification number (IIN) Individual account identification Check digit With the GSM Phase 1 specification using 10 octets into which ICCID is stored as packed BCD ,

2112-452: The K i by using the smart-card interface . Instead, the SIM card provides a function, Run GSM Algorithm , that the phone uses to pass data to the SIM card to be signed with the K i . This, by design, makes using the SIM card mandatory unless the K i can be extracted from the SIM card, or the carrier is willing to reveal the K i . In practice, the GSM cryptographic algorithm for computing

2176-583: The S@T Browser library were being actively exploited. This vulnerability was named Simjacker . Attackers were using the vulnerability to track the location of thousands of mobile phone users in several countries. Further details of the research were provided at VirusBulletin on 3 October 2019. When GSM was already in use, the specifications were further developed and enhanced with functionality such as SMS and GPRS . These development steps are referred as releases by ETSI. Within these development cycles,

2240-421: The SIM card. When a user tries to copy such entries to a SIM, the handset's software breaks them into multiple entries, discarding information that is not a phone number. The number of contacts and messages stored depends on the SIM; early models stored as few as five messages and 20 contacts, while modern SIM cards can usually store over 250 contacts. SIM cards have been made smaller over the years; functionality

2304-506: The SIM cards and are also engraved or printed on the SIM card body during a process called personalisation. The ICCID is defined by the ITU-T recommendation E.118 as the primary account number . Its layout is based on ISO/IEC 7812 . According to E.118, the number can be up to 19 digits long, including a single check digit calculated using the Luhn algorithm . However, the GSM Phase 1 defined

2368-656: The SIM specification was enhanced as well: new voltage classes, formats and files were introduced. In GSM-only times, the SIM consisted of the hardware and the software. With the advent of UMTS, this naming was split: the SIM was now an application and hence only software. The hardware part was called UICC. This split was necessary because UMTS introduced a new application, the universal subscriber identity module (USIM). The USIM brought, among other things, security improvements like mutual authentication and longer encryption keys, and an improved address book. "SIM cards" in developed countries today are usually UICCs containing at least

2432-677: The SIM. Further details of the research were provided at BlackHat on 31 July 2013. In response, the International Telecommunication Union said that the development was "hugely significant" and that it would be contacting its members. In February 2015, The Intercept reported that the NSA and GCHQ had stolen the encryption keys (Ki's) used by Gemalto (now known as Thales DIS , manufacturer of 2 billion SIM cards annually) ), enabling these intelligence agencies to monitor voice and data communications without

2496-484: The SMSC ( Short Message service center ) number, service provider name (SPN), service dialing numbers (SDN), advice-of-charge parameters and value-added service (VAS) applications. (Refer to GSM 11.11. ) SIM cards can come in various data capacities, from 8 KB to at least 256 KB . All can store a maximum of 250 contacts on the SIM, but while the 32 KB has room for 33 Mobile country code (MCCs) or network identifiers ,

2560-631: The United States and Canada have been using EAN-13 codes beginning with 0, since they were generated by GS1-US. The 020-029 GS1 Prefixes are worth a special mention. GS1 defines this as being available for retailer internal use (or internal use by other types of business). Some retailers use this for proprietary (own brand or unbranded) products, although many retailers obtain their own manufacturer's code for their own brands. Other retailers use at least part of this prefix for products which are packaged in store, for example, items weighed and served over

2624-545: The applications, ETSI chose Java Card . A multi-company collaboration called GlobalPlatform defines some extensions on the cards, with additional APIs and features like more cryptographic security and RFID contactless use added. SIM cards store network-specific information used to authenticate and identify subscribers on the network. The most important of these are the ICCID, IMSI, authentication key (K i ) , local area identity (LAI) and operator-specific emergency number. The SIM also stores other carrier-specific data such as

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2688-614: The card itself. Technically the actual physical card is known as a universal integrated circuit card (UICC); this smart card is usually made of PVC with embedded contacts and semiconductors , with the SIM as its primary component. In practice the term "SIM card" is still used to refer to the entire unit and not simply the IC. A SIM contains a unique serial number, integrated circuit card identification (ICCID), international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) number, security authentication and ciphering information, temporary information related to

2752-496: The contact area of the chip. Retaining the same contact area makes the micro-SIM compatible with the prior, larger SIM readers through the use of plastic cutout surrounds. The SIM was also designed to run at the same speed (5 MHz) as the prior version. The same size and positions of pins resulted in numerous "How-to" tutorials and YouTube videos with detailed instructions how to cut a mini-SIM card to micro-SIM size. The chairman of EP SCP, Klaus Vedder, said ETSI has responded to

2816-498: The country where the legal deposits are made by a publisher registered with a national agency, and it is further subdivided any allocating subblocks for publishers; many countries have several prefixes allocated in the ISSN and ISBN registries. The product code is assigned by the manufacturer. The product code immediately follows manufacturer code. The total length of manufacturer code plus product code should be 9 or 10 digits depending on

2880-598: The current year's issue number and in weighed products like food, to indicate the manufacturer's suggested retail price . The 13-digit EAN-13 number consists of four components: The first three digits of the EAN-13 (GS1 Prefix) usually identify the GS1 Member Organization which the manufacturer has joined (not necessarily where the product is actually made). Note that EAN-13 codes beginning with 0 are actually 12-digit UPC codes with prepended 0 digit. In recent years, more products sold by retailers outside

2944-454: The data field has room for 20 digits with hexadecimal digit "F" being used as filler when necessary. In practice, this means that on GSM cards there are 20-digit (19+1) and 19-digit (18+1) ICCIDs in use, depending upon the issuer. However, a single issuer always uses the same size for its ICCIDs. As required by E.118, the ITU-T updates a list of all current internationally assigned IIN codes in its Operational Bulletins which are published twice

3008-447: The device changes locations, it stores the new LAI to the SIM and sends it back to the operator network with its new location. If the device is power cycled, it takes data off the SIM, and searches for the prior LAI. Most SIM cards store a number of SMS messages and phone book contacts. It stores the contacts in simple "name and number" pairs. Entries that contain multiple phone numbers and additional phone numbers are usually not stored on

3072-414: The digits 0–9, unlike some other barcode symbologies which can represent additional characters. The most commonly used EAN standard is the thirteen-digit EAN-13 , a superset of the original 12-digit Universal Product Code (UPC-A) standard developed in 1970 by George J. Laurer . An EAN-13 number includes a 3-digit GS1 prefix (indicating country of registration or special type of product). A prefix with

3136-475: The integrity of the data scanned. If errors are detected, the scanner can either alert the user or attempt correction, improving the reliability of scanning in dynamic or less-than-ideal conditions. Japanese Article Number ( JAN ) is a barcode standard compatible with the EAN. It is a subset of EAN. Use of the JAN standard began in 1978. Originally, JAN was issued a flag code (EAN's number system) of 49. In 1992, JAN

3200-537: The knowledge or approval of cellular network providers or judicial oversight. Having finished its investigation, Gemalto claimed that it has “reasonable grounds” to believe that the NSA and GCHQ carried out an operation to hack its network in 2010 and 2011, but says the number of possibly stolen keys would not have been massive. In September 2019, Cathal Mc Daid, a security researcher from Adaptive Mobile Security, described how vulnerabilities in some SIM cards that contained

3264-410: The last group of 6 digits are encoded using a single pattern RRRRRR, the one also used for UPC . If the first digit is zero, all digits in the first group of 6 are encoded using the pattern LLLLLL used for UPC ; therefore, a UPC barcode is also an EAN-13 barcode with the first digit set to zero. This encoding guarantees that the first group always starts with an L-code, which has odd parity, and that

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3328-409: The length of country code (2–3 digits). In ISBN, ISMN and ISSN, it uniquely identifies the publication from the same publisher; it should be used and allocated by the registered publisher in order to avoid creating gaps; however it happens that a registered book or serial never gets published and sold. The check digit is an additional digit, used to verify that a barcode has been scanned correctly. It

3392-459: The local network, a list of the services the user has access to, and four passwords: a personal identification number (PIN) for ordinary use, and a personal unblocking key (PUK) for PIN unlocking as well as a second pair (called PIN2 and PUK2 respectively) which are used for managing fixed dialing number and some other functionality. In Europe, the serial SIM number (SSN) is also sometimes accompanied by an international article number (IAN) or

3456-463: The majority of SIM cards launched before 1998 was 5 V . SIM cards produced subsequently are compatible with 3 V and 5 V . Modern cards support 5 V , 3 V and 1.8 V . Modern SIM cards allow applications to load when the SIM is in use by the subscriber. These applications communicate with the handset or a server using SIM Application Toolkit , which was initially specified by 3GPP in TS 11.14. (There

3520-437: The previous format to the contact area while maintaining the existing contact arrangements. A small rim of isolating material is left around the contact area to avoid short circuits with the socket. The nano-SIM can be put into adapters for use with devices designed for 2FF or 3FF SIMs, and is made thinner for that purpose, and telephone companies give due warning about this. 4FF is 0.67 mm (0.026 in) thick, compared to

3584-568: The respective entries in the L-column. Entries in the G-column are the entries in the R-column in reverse bit order. See pictures of all codes against a colored background. A run of one or more black areas is known as a "bar", and a run of one or more white areas is known as a "space". As can be seen in the table, each digit's encoding comprises two bars and two spaces, and the maximum width of

3648-453: The same contact arrangement as the full-size SIM card and is normally supplied within a full-size card carrier, attached by a number of linking pieces. This arrangement (defined in ISO/IEC 7810 as ID-1/000 ) lets such a card be used in a device that requires a full-size card – or in a device that requires a mini-SIM card, after breaking the linking pieces. As the full-size SIM

3712-402: The second group always starts with an R-code, which has even parity. Thus, it does not matter whether the barcode is scanned from the left or from the right, as the scanning software can use this parity to identify the start and end of the code. EAN-8 barcodes encode all digits directly, using this scheme: Note : Entries in the R-column are bitwise complements (logical operator: negation ) of

3776-493: The specification work was partially transferred to 3GPP . 3GPP is now responsible for the further development of applications like SIM (TS 51.011 ) and USIM (TS 31.102 ) and ETSI for the further development of the physical card UICC . The first SIM card was manufactured in 1991 by Munich smart-card maker Giesecke+Devrient , who sold the first 300 SIM cards to the Finnish wireless network operator Radiolinja , who launched

3840-544: The switching systems. This Eritrea -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . SIM card A SIM ( Subscriber Identity Module ) card is an integrated circuit (IC) intended to securely store an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) number and its related key, which are used to identify and authenticate subscribers on mobile telephone devices (such as mobile phones and laptops ). SIMs are also able to store address book contacts information, and may be protected using

3904-414: The value of each data digit. The checksum digit is the digit which must be added to this checksum to get a number divisible by 10 (i.e. the additive inverse of the checksum, modulo 10). See ISBN-13 check digit calculation for a more extensive description and algorithm. The Global Location Number (GLN) also uses the same method. The weight at a specific position in the EAN code is alternating (3 or 1) in

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3968-550: The world's first commercial 2G GSM cell network that year. Today, SIM cards are considered ubiquitous, allowing over 8 billion devices to connect to cellular networks around the world daily. According to the International Card Manufacturers Association (ICMA), there were 5.4 billion SIM cards manufactured globally in 2016 creating over $ 6.5 billion in revenue for traditional SIM card vendors. The rise of cellular IoT and 5G networks

4032-502: Was founded jointly between the Government of Eritrea and Ubambo Investment Holdings Limited, a South African firm. EriTel doesn't provide its customers with SMS services to foreign locations. As an internet operator, EriTel was among the first companies to get a license to operate. To provide its product the firm provides internet cafes, leased lines and dial-up connections. However, connections are typically overcrowded and congestion

4096-611: Was predicted by Ericsson to drive the growth of the addressable market for SIM cards to over 20 billion devices by 2020. The introduction of embedded-SIM (eSIM) and remote SIM provisioning (RSP) from the GSMA may disrupt the traditional SIM card ecosystem with the entrance of new players specializing in "digital" SIM card provisioning and other value-added services for mobile network operators. There are three operating voltages for SIM cards: 5 V , 3 V and 1.8 V ( ISO/IEC 7816 -3 classes A, B and C, respectively). The operating voltage of

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