The GSMA has a specification published for ’embedded’ sim cards. This is no longer necessarily a physical sim card in a device to stop, something that will primarily be used for machine-to-machine applications.
According to the GSMA, the umbrella organisation for companies, the specification for embedded sim cards received approval from most of the major providers worldwide. With the new specification is not longer required to have a physical sim card in a device to stop: the embedded variant is the remotely possible to the sim card programming, to, for example, to connect to the network of a provider.
Embedded sim cards will primarily be used in machine-to-machine applications, says the GSMA. Especially m2m applications where the device is in a remote and enclosed location will benefit from the new specification. According to the GSMA, the first devices on the basis of the embedded sim specification next year on the market.
It is unclear whether the new specification also for mobile phones like smartphones and tablets will be used. It is, moreover smartphones on cdma works, a counterpart of the gsm-based networking technologies, so that there is no sim card is needed to connect to a network.