MPLS implicit NULL
An implicit NULL label in MPLS is used to initiate penultimate hop popping (PHP).
This is a label that an LSR may assign and distribute, but which never actually appears in the encapsulation. When an LSR would otherwise replace the label at the top of the stack with a new label, but the new label is "Implicit NULL", the LSR will pop the stack instead of doing the replacement. Although this value may never appear in the encapsulation, it needs to be specified in the Label Distribution Protocol, so a value is reserved.
The implicit NULL label has a value of 3.
This is not to be confused with the explicit NULL label.