Original equipment manufacturers (OEM) typically have to manufacture and ship out thousands of cellular machine-to-machine (M2M) and Internet of Things (IoT) devices with little to no visibility about where they’re headed or where they’ll ultimately end up. This is why they need a multi-carrier or multi-network solution for their SIM-enabled devices.
Currently, OEMs have two options: the multi-IMSI solution and eUICC.
Why the Need for Multiple Carriers
Physical SIM cards contain the profile of a mobile network operator (MNO), so they (and the devices they’re on) will know which network to connect to. This is why travellers proceed to the counter of their choice of network operator upon landing at an airport: to obtain a SIM card for a local carrier. Therefore, physical SIM cards are carrier- or network-bound.
This means OEMs must know where their M2M or IoT devices will be sold. They need to determine which MNO profile to load onto the SIM card they’re shipping the device with, and they must have network agreements in place in these markets to support their devices’ operation.
This is not a perfect system. What if the M2M or IoT device needs to travel (e.g., asset trackers)? Some devices must be deployed in the field, far from where they were bought. Examples include pump sensors, internet protocol cameras, virtual and augmented reality (VR) units, etc.
If the SIM cards on such equipment have been initially linked to a particular network, they’ll soon be out of that network’s coverage area. It doesn’t help that the SIM cards on M2M and IoT devices are not always accessible and readily swappable.
When this happens and swapping SIM cards is impossible, enterprises must resort to permanent roaming (i.e., connecting via a conduit network). This is not ideal because roaming is expensive and fraught with latency and reliability issues.
For these reasons, OEMs (also M2M and IoT end-users) need multi-carrier connectivity. Currently, the multi-IMSI and eUICC solutions can provide this.
The Multi-IMSI Solution
IMSI is short for International Mobile Subscriber Identity, and multi-IMSI SIM cards are SIM cards preloaded with multiple IMSI profiles. They’re an improvement on traditional mono-IMSI SIM cards, which carry or store only one network profile.
Multi-IMSI SIM cards do not only have multiple operator profiles. They also have applets to automate profile switching as needed. Therefore, a multi-IMSI SIM connected to operator A but has the IMSIs of operators B, C, and D will cycle through these other profiles to establish a new connection if operator A becomes unreachable for whatever reason.
The multi-IMSI solution ensures M2M and IoT devices relying on cellular connectivity will always have a network connection.
The eUICC Solution
eUICC or embedded universal integrated circuit card (eUICC) is software found in modern SIMs. The component enables on-demand provisioning of operator profiles from a remote provisioning platform. ESIMs owe many of their advantages – particularly remote profile provisioning, updating, and administration – to eUICC.
Since eUICC allows profile addition, deletion and switching over the air, it is a nifty solution to the OEMs’ need for multiple carrier connectivity. OEMs can use the same type of eSIM on all their devices (i.e., single SKU eSIM). They don’t need to know where their devices will be used and don’t have to worry about them travelling or being redeployed, repurposed or reassigned.
eUICC SIMs can be provisioned operator profiles as needed and on location via an SM-DP+ server. Therefore, the devices with eUICC SIMs can download (or be provided with) the profiles for whichever local networks are available and reliable. If an eUICC SIM device transfers location, the old operator profiles can be deleted and swapped with new ones.
Which Is Better: Multi-IMSI or eUICC?
Both multi-IMSI and eUICC fill the need for multiple carrier profiles in M2M and IoT devices. However, intelligent network switching via eUICC is the better solution.
Multi-IMSI is still limited because, while M2M and IoT devices can switch networks as needed, they can only switch to a preloaded network. If all preloaded IMSIs fail (e.g., the device travels to a location that none of the operators stored in the SIM card covers), multi-IMSI SIM cards will still lose their network connection and the original problem (i.e., the lack of network connectivity) recurs.
Compare this to the eUICC solution. eUICC permits not only automated profile switching but also profile addition and deletion. If all profiles already stored on the eUICC become unavailable, the enterprise user can delete them and replace them with new operator profiles.
The use of SM-DP+ (the same type of provisioning platform used in consumer eSIM devices) also means flexibility in SIM provisioning. Operator profiles can be pushed to constricted M2M and IoT devices, while those with more advanced capabilities can actively download these profiles. SM-DP+ also makes it easier to integrate new partner networks and operators.
Intelligent Profile Switching via eUICC Wins
eUICC is better than multi-IMSI. It’s flexible, versatile and future-proof. OEMs no longer need to know where their M2M and IoT devices will operate or to sign inflexible arrangements with connectivity providers and aggregators. They can now embed eUICC-enabled SIMs (e.g., eUICC eSIM) into their devices and never again worry about their network compatibility and connectivity.
