A new GSM Association (GSMA) specification for over the air (OTA) provisioning of embedded machine-to-machine SIMs is the biggest change in subscriber modules since the mobile phone, a backer of the standard claims.
Carsten Ahrens, group senior vice president at smartcard firm Giesecke & Devrient’s Server Software and Services Division, says the OTA standard for embedded SIMs is the “biggest revolution” in the market since SIMs were developed for mobile phones.
“The OTA provisioning and management of Embedded SIMs,” creates “secure and flexible technology to connect up billions of M2M devices and enable the Internet of Things," Ahrens says.
Embedded SIMs will simplify deployment of M2M by removing the need to manually interact with the module to make changes and replacements, the GSMA explains. The specification, published yesterday, clears the way for SIMs to be incorporated into M2M equipment at the point of manufacture, and then remotely provisioned by service providers.
Alex Sinclair, the GSMA’s chief technology officer, says growth in the M2M market is “will be heavily dependent on the adoption of a common, global and interoperable SIM provisioning and management architecture that enables the M2M market to flourish.”
Giesecke & Devrient is one of three smartcard firms – Gemalto and Oberthur – backing the GSMA’s embedded SIM specification. Operators including China Mobile, China Unicom, and NTT DoCoMo are also on board.