Source of this article: Wulian Media
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eSIM Wulian Workshop welcomes you to come and guide and discuss the application of eSIM in the Internet of Things!
Recently, the official website of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced that it agreed to China Mobile and China Telecom to develop eSIM technology application services in the Internet of Things and other fields, but only to open data services and related directional voice and directional short message services. At the same time, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology requires that the relevant requirements for number management should be strictly followed, and only 13-digit IoT numbers can be used to carry out eSIM technology application services in the Internet of Things and other fields; operators can only handle eSIM technology application services in the Internet of Things and other fields through their own channels. Resale companies must apply separately to provide related services.
In addition, at the beginning of this year, China Unicom was the first to obtain the approval from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. So far, the three major operators have all been approved for eSIM technology application services in the Internet of Things.
Although the three major operators only received the approval from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology for the development of eSIM technology application services in the Internet of Things and other fields this year, in fact, the major operators have been active in the past few years:
China Unicom
China Unicom began researching and deploying eSIM business in 2015. In 2017, it was the first approved eSIM wearable business Shanghai pilot; in 2018, Huawei and Apple were approved to launch the first dual terminal and independent number business in 6 provinces and 7 cities ; In March 2019, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology approved China Unicom to launch a national service trial for independent numbers for eSIM wearable devices. At the end of the month, China Unicom announced that it would expand the independent number service for eSIM wearable devices from the pilot to the whole country; on February 26 this year, China Unicom Heguanghetong jointly released the world's first 5G+eSIM module.
China Mobile
traced the procurement records of China Mobile Internet of Things Co., Ltd. As early as 2017, China Mobile Internet of Things Co., Ltd. initiated procurement bidding for the 4G eSIM IoT chip research and development project, and began large-scale procurement of eSIM wafers in 2018. The procurement scale at that time was 50 million. Among them, consumer-grade eSIM wafers and industrial-grade eSIM wafers are 40 million and 10 million respectively. On October 13, China Mobile Internet of Things Co., Ltd. released a large-scale eSIM wafer procurement project, with a total procurement of 70 million wafers. Among them, 40 million consumer wafers and 30 million industrial wafers. In addition, China Mobile Internet of Things Co., Ltd. has issued multiple eSIM chip packaging project procurement announcements.
China Telecom
in November 2018, China Telecom eSIM business will support GPS + cellular network version of Apple Watch Series 3 and Apple Watch Series 4 series, but only in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing and Chengdu four pilot cities. Subsequently, three pilot cities of Shenzhen, Wuhan and Hangzhou were expanded.
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What changes can eSIM cards bring compared to SIM cards? The
so-called eSIM, or embedded SIM card, is called Embedded-SIM in English. Essentially it is still a SIM card, but it is different in form. From a pluggable metal card to a virtual SIM card, it is directly embedded on the device chip to provide identification for each terminal device to access the operator network of.
Although eSIM is invisible and intangible, it is capable of making calls, texting, and positioning. In addition, eSIM can directly interact with the terminal, and connect the terminal smart device to the selected local network globally through the App or the cloud, giving the device the ability to always be at the best network speed and coverage.
As early as 2014, the commercial process of eSIM has already started on a global scale. According to GSMA data, as of July 2016, 80 major operators worldwide support the eSIM model, including leading operators such as AT&T, Verizon, Deutsche Telekom, KDDI, NTT DoCoMo, and Telefónica.
We analyze the changes that eSIM technology brings to users from the following aspects:
1. Improved performance and more convenience: The convenience brought by eSIM technology for consumers is manifold, such as:
(1) Smart devices are lighter and no longer need to manually install SIM cards.
(2) Consumers can get rid of SIM card restrictions, and can switch between different operators at any time according to environmental factors such as the quality of the network signal and the difference in tariffs.
(3) For users with multiple mobile phone numbers, multi-number management will become easier.
(4) The SIM card slot is easy to enter dust, and severe vibration can cause poor contact. It is particularly difficult to deploy the Internet of Things, while eSIM does not have this concern.
(5) It is easier to build an IoT network that spans multiple operators.
For example, a car may be sold, distributed, distributed and used in different countries. If it manufactures communication modules in country A, assembles it in country B, and sells it to country C, the user will drive it in country D, country E, For cross-country self-driving trips in country F, eSIM is much more convenient than locking a physical SIM card of an operator.
2. Cost saving: In the mobile phone era, we have contributed a lot of profits to operators, especially domestic operators have a high degree of monopoly. Consumers do not have much bargaining power when choosing communication services, and eSIM brings users The second major benefit is cost saving, which is specifically manifested in:
(1) The traditional SIM card limits the space and design of the device, and increases the process difficulty and manufacturing cost of the device, so eSIM can no longer worry about these problems.
(2) Since consumers can easily switch between different operators, the traditional package pricing method will become invalid. There are rumors that there are companies currently developing mobile apps that can automatically help mobile phone users switch operator networks based on network speed and tariffs.
(3) When the user travels abroad, he can simply activate the service of the local operator with one click, instead of communicating with expensive international roaming.
3. Higher security: In addition to convenience and cost savings, eSIM technology is also very important to improve security performance.
For example, the security information contained in the eSIM card can be used to help companies perform private network identity verification; remote management of device data, retrieval and deletion of security protection, etc. are easier.
From wearable to car networking, the application of eSIM technology is open.
Just imagine a few years ago, even if you wear a smart watch on your hand, you should not be too far away from the phone in order not to miss any calls or messages, because the smart watch must rely on the network of the smart phone. To achieve connection and transmission, once there is no Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, etc., it is equivalent to an ordinary electronic watch. But the rise of eSIM technology has overturned this restriction. eSIM enables smart watches to have independent identification, which can realize network connection and data transmission independently of mobile phones and other devices.
In addition to mobile phones, eSIM will be widely used in many fields such as the Internet of Things, the Internet of Vehicles, and wearables in the future.
The prospect of eSIM card in the field of Internet of Things
Although mobile phones have greater demand for eSIM, the greater beneficiary of eSIM is actually the Internet of Things. At present, the Internet of Things has developed unprecedentedly. Applications such as wearable devices, human body monitoring devices, Internet of Vehicles, smart homes, smart homes, smart cities, smart meter reading, location tracking, etc. have sprung up like mushrooms. For these smart devices, In other words, communication and networking are undoubtedly basic functions, and the advantages of eSIM are even more obvious. It is obviously a better choice for operators to adopt eSIM technology.
As a component of the functional module of the smart device, eSIM has a repeatable erasing function and can write data at any time to change the operator, which can meet the high requirements of the Internet of Things devices for the security and stability of communication. Enterprises directly embed eSIM cards in IoT devices during the production process, and complete operator safety certification by means of OTA. Users do not need to plug in and out the SIM card, they can directly select the operator's network where the device is located, and use local tariffs to save cross-border roaming costs.
The application of eSIM card in the Internet of Vehicles
In fact, the eSIM business was first developed and commercialized on a large scale in the Internet of Vehicles. Its technology has also been tested in the field of Internet of Vehicles. But why is the Internet of Vehicles?
First of all, the requirements of the Internet of Vehicles for communication are actually security requirements. Embedded cards are more secure in terms of security. When a car is in an accident, the car will mainly take the initiative to do so with the background when the owner cannot operate. Communication, then eSIM plays a very critical role. Obviously, traditional plug-in cards cannot ensure the normal use of this service after a collision.
Secondly, the cross-border import and export of vehicles requires the service of code number management. From the perspective of car companies, the cost of eSIM is irrelevant. They pay more attention to the simplification of the process and the improvement of convenience brought by eSIM, which reduces the cumbersome degree of material management, manpower input and operation process.
These factors have caused many car dealers to be the first to use eSIM's M2M service, which means that they use patch cards and perform code number management services.
Application of eSIM in the Industrial Internet of Things
Industrial Internet of Things includes industries such as smart cities, smart agriculture, smart transportation, smart manufacturing, and smart medical care. Due to the large differences in different industries, the requirements for connection management are complex, and management dimensions and management difficulties seem to be increasing day by day.
For example, more and more national industrial enterprises and construction companies wear smart bracelets to their employees to monitor key variables such as air quality, heart rate, location, and so on, to protect their health and safety under harsh conditions. eSIM uses OTA over-the-air download technology to simultaneously erase and write SIM cards for tens of thousands of devices, which not only simplifies management, but also improves the practicability of smart bracelets and employee satisfaction.
Smart logistics is also one of the typical application scenarios of eSIM. Logistics fleets spanning different cities and even countries are mostly equipped with sensors that collect various types of data. A large amount of telemetry data is collected every day, and its integrity and circulation are critical. eSIM not only reduces roaming costs, but also prevents data interruption due to poor signal or SIM card replacement.
With the further popularization of Internet of Things applications and the gradual maturity of new technologies such as 5G communications and artificial intelligence, the advantages of eSIM in terms of high integration, miniaturization, maintenance-free, and long-term connections will further emerge.
Application of eSIM card in wearable devices and other consumer Internet of Things
Consumer Internet of Things is one of the most important application areas of eSIM, including various wearable devices, smart speakers, drones, medical health equipment, tracking locators, etc. An important application carrier of eSIM.
With the popularization of wearables and other devices, communication and networking have also become a standard feature of these smart hardware. Obviously, compared to cars and smart phones, the internal space of wearable devices is much more precious, especially when the battery technology has not made breakthroughs, so eSIM is obviously a better choice.
An era for eSIM is approaching.
According to the Strategy Analytics research report, the sales of eSIM for IoT applications will grow to US$326 million by 2025, more than double the current level. At present, terminal manufacturers, operators and eSIM technology solution providers have all "embrace" eSIM technology, and eSIM cards are expanding more application scenarios.
Some organizations predict that by 2024, the global shipments of smartphones supporting eSIM business will exceed 500 million.
In the past, operators have been slow to promote eSIM devices. However, the eSIM business has been carried out for several years and accumulated rich practical application experience. With the maturity of the underlying technologies such as 5G and big data, the three major operators have also accelerated the speed and scope of their deployment.
Now the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's approval of the three operators to provide eSIM technology application services is an important node in the development of eSIM, and it is expected that eSIM will usher in important development opportunities in 2020.
From the current development of the eSIM industry chain, operators, module manufacturers, solution providers, and equipment manufacturers are all well prepared to welcome the eSIM era.
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