The use of traditional handset SIM cards presents challenges for insertion and replacement in M2M products for transport, consumer electronics, utilities and other applications, which can add cost and create barriers to sales. To overcome this, a specific non-removable SIM embedded at the point of manufacture enables remote provisioning with the subscription profile of the operator providing the connectivity. This eliminates the need to replace SIM cards over the lifetime of each M2M product, reducing ongoing operational and logistical costs and helping to streamline the retail process.
The Beecham Research report, prepared for the GSMA as an independent view of the benefits for business of the GSMA Embedded SIM Specification, examines particular opportunities in the auto, consumer electronics, smart metering and other key sectors. As part of the work, senior representatives from these industries were interviewed together with Mobile Network Operators, MVNOs, SIM vendors and M2M hardware vendors. The consensus reached during the research is that devices installed by manufacturers must adhere to a single specification that is standardised globally through mobile operators in order to open up the full market opportunity.
“The availability of the GSMA Embedded SIM Specification is a big deal for the connected devices market,” according to Robin Duke-Woolley, CEO of Beecham Research. “This is targeted primarily at the OEM community to make it easier and more streamlined both to build cellular connectivity into their products and to sell them through many more channels to market. It also considerably opens up the second hand market in cars and other products for continued use of support services by second and subsequent owners.”
The estimated uplift in the installed base of connected devices by 2020 as a result of using the GSMA Embedded SIM Specification as opposed to proprietary embedded SIM solutions is calculated at 34%, according to the Beecham Research report. “This is a conservative view,” says Saverio Romeo, Principal Analyst at Beecham Research. “In practice, this is great for the auto industry and is likely to lead to faster growth, not only for new sales but for the second hand market as well. We also think it will drive a lot of new sales internationally in the consumer electronics market and lead to more elegant product designs.”