Everything to Know About Iot Sims and Ota Sim Provisioning

A SIM card acts as the link connecting a cellular device to a network. It provides a unique identity to each machine to receive and send data within a network. Whether an industrial IoT device or a consumer mobile phone, all cellular units need a SIM card. 

But how are the new IoT eSIM cards different from traditional SIMs? What is Over The Air SIM Management? Read on to find out.

IoT SIM Cards:

Since the IoT revolution began a few years ago, the limitations of traditional SIM cards are becoming more apparent. The conversation is now shifting towards the evolving applications and functionalities of SIM cards. Since the reveal of IoT-enabled eSIM technology, the connectivity market has been completely disrupted. Recently, distinctly different M2M (machine-to-machine) IoT SIMs have been widely adopted. 

Unlike traditional SIM cards, IoT SIM cards are for sending and receiving data instead of making calls. These upgraded SIMs have higher memory and are more durable than consumer SIM cards. They also have a longer life cycle, lasting for as much as ten years or more. IoT SIM cards for M2M devices are also built to withstand harsh environmental and physical conditions such as extreme temperatures, vibration and corrosion. 

What is OTA SIM Provisioning?

Over the air provisioning is the term used to describe how devices or network functionalities are modified or updated wirelessly or remotely. For cellular networks, this means SIM card management and firmware updates. These updates are essential to ensure device security. OTA enables you to secure network vulnerabilities and fix bugs while the device is still being used in the field. Firmware updates over the air are done using cellular connectivity. 

IoT SIM cards are directly affected by two key OTA technologies. They allow you to change a SIM card’s contents and even the entire operator profile. SIM cards generally need updates so that they comply with the new security standards. It also ensures their configuration is optimized for network access. 

A SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) is generally detachable. You can manually swap or modify it, but it is a tedious task. To provide a more seamless customer experience, this process needs to remove the onus of switching SIMs from the customer to the operator. 

OTA SIM provisioning makes it easier and more efficient to manage the cellular connectivity of devices. All you need are the right tools for the job.

OTA SIM Profile Provisioning:

A single SIM profile pretty much entirely makes up a physical SIM card, from the applets to filesystem to algorithms to keys and identifiers. In traditional SIM cards, operators can update any file or applet remotely, including MSISDN, IMSI, SMSC, and preferred network. They can also modify and update existing parameters of configuration.

This allows providers to perform functions like 

• Creating a new functionality, like quality checks or security mechanisms
• Suspending the SIM profile
• Integrating the SIM with a different provider

Generally, OTA SIM provisioning depends on A2P SMS for SIM card updates. This enables operators to update devices even without being online. New SIMs also support updates over the air through HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol). This, in turn, allows SIM cards to retrieve the update from the central server.

OTA Provisioning via eUICC:

The technology within an eSIM card that simplifies the OTA provisioning of new SIM profiles is known as eUICC (Embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Card).

Consider a connected network with devices located in different countries, like an automotive entertainment system. When one of the systems is activated in one country, it first connects via a bootstrap profile. After that, you can easily update your eUICC over the air and get a local MNO profile. 

A traditional UICC requires a new physical SIM card to be inserted before you can use a separate MNO profile for connecting with a new list of networks. However, an eUICC is designed to store several profiles together. When a profile is not working during the deployment stage, you can use a new profile through OTA provisioning and not swap out the SIM card physically. You can also personalize your functionalities to decide how the profiles should use the available profile options. 

One of the few cons of eUICCs is system integration. When you update to a different profile, your old and new operators need to integrate their SM-SR (Subscription Manager - Secure Routing). This is an expensive process to complete. 

Things to Check for While Choosing an eSIM Provider:

Whatever your needs are - consumer-facing or M2M - you need to be careful while choosing your eSIM partner. Every project has different requirements, and your eSIM provider needs to be able to adjust to the changing market conditions. Depending on your specific needs, consider the following factors while choosing your IoT SIM provider:

• Global connectivity
• Clear pricing model
• Scalability
• eUICC capabilities and technologies
• Performance of platforms