Why is eSIM Such a Game-Changer for IoT
To some people, the Internet of Things concept has not quite yet brought about the ‘everything, everywhere’ revolution in connectivity that tech and industry insiders have been talking about for most of the last decade. Sure, there has been progress - Gartner estimates there will be 20 billion connected IoT devices in circulation by 2020, a three-fold increase on 2016. But the global takeover by networked appliances, gadgets, sensors and machines is still a work in progress.
Gartner estimates there will be 20 billion connected IoT devices in circulation by 2020, a three-fold increase on 2016.
There is good reason for this. The task of connecting billions of additional devices in hundreds of new form factors to serve scores of different purposes has thrown up some serious practical challenges. Mobile networks and the mobile industry ecosystem, on which the burden of providing IoT connectivity has fallen, evolved to serve the needs of consumers using mobile phones. the requirements of industrial enterprises and their machinery. The requirements of industrial enterprises and their machinery are markedly different and there is no easy path of transition.
One of the barriers faced has no doubt been the way that access and authentication on mobile networks has been managed, and the role in that of the subscriber identity module, or SIM. Again, the use of removable SIM cards has to be understood in the context of retail markets selling connectivity on a one device, one network basis. It’s like broadband providers supplying their own routers to connect a new customer. When you change provider, you get a new router. When mobile phone owners change network operator, they change SIM.
But this model causes several problems in B2B and industrial markets where connectivity is treated as more of a service than a commodity (complete with its own physical token). Imagine a modern factory or an urban area covered by smart city infrastructure where there might be dozens of different connected devices of numerous different types deployed over a wide geographic area. Having individual removable SIMs in each just creates cost and complexity. Imagine having to remove every single SIM from every networked sensor just to change network provider. Imagine the logistical problems of doing this with components in hard-to-reach places like sewer systems or embedded deep within processing machinery. Think of the difficulties for OEMs, having to design their products so they could accommodate the various different SIM card sizes available, or providing for different SIM formats in different regions.
E-SIM changes the game for IoT because it eliminates much of the complexity that multiplying device types and dispersed deployments create in managing mobile connectivity. But in doing so, the blueprint for how access to mobile networks is provisioned has had to be ripped up and redrawn.
E-SIM has two main characteristics which has opened the door to a different model of connectivity. First of all, the Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) which carries the SIM is hardwired, or embedded, into the device, so there is no more removing and inserting chips. Secondly, the one SIM, one operator profile model has been replaced by remote provisioning - the ability to manage, change and update operator profiles over the airwaves.
The embedded UICC (eUICC) delivers benefits for both end users and OEMs. It eliminates the logistical burden of having to manage dozens of different removable chips, lowering the TCO of IoT devices. Having the eUICC safely enclosed in the body of the device, with no need for an accessible SIM slot, also lends itself to more robust, tamper-proof designs.
eUICCs are also considerably smaller than their removable equivalents, improving energy efficiency and saving space, which allows for more flexibility in device design and increases the range of devices that can be fitted with SIMs. And as mentioned, for OEMs it means they can adopt one design for all markets, without having to consider different SIM form factors.
Remote over-the-air provisioning, meanwhile, marks a significant step change in how operator and user profiles are matched, one which offers significant benefits to IoT. For a smartphone user, ordering and inserting a new SIM card to change network provider might not seem a big deal, but for a manufacturer or utilities operator with thousands of connected sensors to manage, it certainly is.
E-SIM remote provisioning means that network access across thousands of devices can be handled from a single management platform. If an IoT client no longer likes the service or price they are getting from a network operator, they can change. It introduces flexibility and competition into IoT network markets, which will ultimately lead to better service.
