10-04-2017, 08:12 PM
Mobile networks are being used to connect all sorts of devices; automated reading of utility meters, intelligent connectivity of cars and commercial vehicles to enable drivers to access navigation, infotainment or breakdown services, traffic lights, home security and assisted living. The number of mobile connected devices is expected to be 10.5 billion by 2020, resulting in a huge new market opportunity, predominantly in the machine to machine (M2M) and consumer electronics sectors. All parties in the M2M ecosystem will struggle if we remain solely dependent upon the traditional SIM card, which is predicated on only associating with one network operator.This is because changing SIM cards is problematical for many business-to-business (B2B) customers. For the industry, optimising manufacturing process is a key challenge that GSMA Embedded SIM solves by providing a global product for a global manufacturing process with local provisioning when the product is deployed in the field. It also solves the challenge of managing those devices in the field when many M2M devices are remotely located, often hermetically sealed, their after sale location is not known during production and furthermore their product life cycles are lengthy. Many of the interfaces and processes needed to make the remote provisioning of SIMs work are virtually identical to current SIM personalisation processes and interfaces used by mobile operators today.