Over 3 billion people still use feature phones without touchscreens or browsers. USSD works on every single mobile phone manufactured in the last 25 years. For rural users in Africa, India, or Southeast Asia, USSD is often the only digital interface they can access reliably.
, which connects to the backend system of a bank, telecom, or utility provider [31]. 3. Core Applications ussd codes
5G networks still include SS7/DSLite support for legacy devices. USSD is tunneled through the 5G core (which supports Nausf and Nudm interfaces for legacy protocols). In short: Over 3 billion people still use feature phones
The key difference is . When you dial a USSD code, you open a live, interactive session with your carrier. You can navigate menus (e.g., "Press 1 for balance, 2 for data plans") as long as the session is active. SMS is a one-off message. , which connects to the backend system of