By Ayesha Matarage
Your Phone and the SIM
In the modern digital age, mobile phones have become a favorite piece of equipment for everyone.
Your phone and the tiny SIM card inside work together seamlessly to connect you to a mobile network. Whether you are making a call, sending a text, or using data, the SIM card is at the heart of it all.
The SIM card is an essential component of mobile communication, not just for your phone, but for any device that needs connectivity to a network operator.
How exactly do they work?
SIM stands for Subscriber Identity Module. It is a tiny chip nestled within your phone that stores your mobile network information and facilitates connecting to your carrier’s network.
The basic workflow is as follows:
- Identification: The SIM card contains a unique International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) number that identifies the subscriber to the network.
- Authentication: When you turn on your phone, it communicates with the network to authenticate your SIM card and grant access.
- Data Storage: SIM cards store a variety of information, including contacts, text messages, and network-specific data.
- Network Connectivity: The SIM card enables your device to connect to the cellular network, allowing you to make calls, send texts, and use mobile data.
What does the future hold with the advent of eSIMs?
Physical SIM and eSIM
The traditional SIM card is a small, removable chip that stores your phone number, carrier information, and other data. You insert the SIM card into your phone’s SIM tray.
A newer iteration of the physical SIM card is the eSIM (embedded SIM). eSIM is a small, embedded chip that is soldered onto the phone’s circuit board. It can be programmed remotely by your carrier (more specifically, your carrier’s RSP provider), so you do not need to physically swap out a SIM card.
SIM Card Evolution
The first SIM cards, introduced in the 1990s, were the size of a credit card. Over time, they have become smaller and more sophisticated.
Figure 1: SIM Card Evolution
Transitioning from physical SIM cards to eSIMs offers several advantages:
- Convenience: Easily switch between carriers without needing to replace a physical card.
- Space Saving: Frees up space in devices for other components or battery improvements.
- Flexibility: Ideal for devices like smartwatches and IoT gadgets where space is at a premium.
- Environmentally Friendly: Reduces plastic waste from physical SIM cards.
What is a Remote SIM Provisioning (RSP) Platform?
Imagine a platform that acts as a central hub for managing eSIM profiles. That is what an RSP does. It allows mobile network operators (MNOs), device manufacturers, and end-users to securely manage and provision eSIMs — all remotely.
As I mentioned earlier, unlike traditional SIM cards that need to be physically inserted and swapped, eSIMs are embedded directly into the device. Hence, the RSP platform facilitates the download, activation, and management of these eSIM profiles over the air.
How Does it Work?
The magic of RSP lies in its ability to orchestrate the entire eSIM lifecycle.
Here is a simplified breakdown:
- Profile Generation: Mobile network operators create eSIM profiles, which are digital versions of the traditional SIM card data.
- Profile Distribution: These profiles are stored on the RSP platform and are ready to be downloaded by users.
- Profile Download: When a user decides to switch carriers or activate a new service, they can download the appropriate eSIM profile to their device via the RSP platform.
- Profile Activation: Once downloaded, the profile is activated, allowing the device to connect to the new network without needing a physical SIM card change.
- Profile Management: Users can manage multiple profiles on a single device, switching between them as needed. The RSP platform supports the addition, deletion, and modification of these profiles.
Benefits of Remote SIM Provisioning
The RSP platform offers numerous advantages for both consumers and network operators:
- Convenience: Users can switch carriers or add new profiles without visiting a store or receiving a physical SIM card.
- Flexibility: Multiple profiles can be stored on a single device, making it easy to switch between personal and business accounts or different carriers.
- Efficiency: The process of provisioning and managing eSIMs is faster and more efficient than dealing with physical SIM cards.
- Cost Savings: Reduces the need for physical SIM card production and distribution, leading to cost savings for carriers.
- Enhanced Security: eSIM profiles can be securely managed and updated over the air, reducing the risk of SIM card theft or cloning.
Axiata Digital Labs (ADL) is also exploring the possibility of creating an RSP Platform. The overall architecture of an RSP Platform would look like this:
Figure 2: An RSP Platform
The Role of the Entitlement Server
An essential component of the Remote SIM Provisioning ecosystem is the Entitlement Server. It manages the activation and deactivation of services on eSIM-enabled devices and ensures that only entitled subscribers can access specific network services. It handles the following:
- Profile Management: Downloading and managing eSIM profiles on devices.
- Service Activation: Activating services like VoLTE, VoWiFi, and other carrier-specific offerings.
- User Authentication: Ensuring that the user is authorized to use the network services.
Axiata Digital Lab’s Contributions to Remote SIM Provisioning
At ADL, we have introduced our own ‘Axonect Entitlement Server,’ which is currently being used by three Mobile Network Operators.
Figure 3: Axonect Entitlement Server
Current Functional Features of Axonect Entitlement Server:
- One Number Service (Secondary Device SIM Provisioning): Seamless provisioning SIM profiles for secondary devices (such as Apple Watches) under a single phone number.
- Apple Family Setup: Management and provisioning of multiple Apple Watches for your family members, each with a dedicated phone number.
- One Click eSIM Transfer: Effortless transfer ofeSIM profiles between devices with a single click.
- VoLTE Entitlements: Activation and management of Voice over LTE (VoLTE) services for enhanced call quality and reliability.
- VoWifi Entitlements: Facility to enable Voice over Wi-Fi (VoWiFi) services to ensure connectivity even in areas with low cellular signal.
- 5G Entitlements: Provisioning and management of 5G services for ultra-fast mobile connectivity.
- Management Console: A centralized platform for easy oversight and control of all the above features.
Currently, we support only the Apple ecosystem, but other device types are on our roadmap.
In Summary…
As we look to the future, the evolution of SIM technology is expected to continue. Some key areas of development include:
- Widespread eSIM Adoption: As more devices support eSIM, we can expect broader adoption across diverse types of hardware.
- Integration with IoT: eSIM technology will become increasingly important on the Internet of Things (IoT), enabling seamless connectivity for a wide range of devices.
- Advanced Security Measures: Continued advancements in security will protect user data and ensure the integrity of network services.
In conclusion, the evolution from physical SIM cards to eSIMs represents a significant leap forward in mobile technology. As more eSIM-connected devices are introduced, entitlement servers will play an increasingly vital role for mobile operators. Supporting entitlement specifications from various device manufacturers will ensure a broader device portfolio with faster time-to-market for each new device.
With the continued development and adoption of eSIMs and Entitlement Servers, the future of mobile connectivity looks more flexible, efficient, and secure than ever before.
Axiata Digital Labs takes pride in building and deploying their Entitlement Server as a sophisticated eSIM provisioning ecosystem for MNOs to become futuristic. To know more about ADL and its Axonect Product Suite, you can visit www.axiatadigitallabs.com or www.axonect.com respectively.
