SIM card evolves with LTE technology

Editor’s Note: This article is an excerpt from RCR Wireless News’ May Special Edition, “Enabling the Mobile Revolution: Mobile Chips, Devices and Accessories.” The 80-page special edition is available here.
The Subscriber Identity Module – that standard little chip that houses all of a subscriber’s information for GSM-based networks – is changing. Long Term Evolution technology is advancing the smart card, while the potential of machine-to-machine communications is evolving the size and form factors for SIMs.
The SIM card is evolving from a simple card that can store and authenticate a user to the network to a Universal Integrated Circuit Card, said Sebastien Cano, Senior VP Telecommunications for Gemalto NV, the world’s largest SIM card manufacturer.
Going forward, the prospects for SIM deployments are great as CDMA providers like Verizon Wireless and MetroPCS Communications Inc. deploy LTE services, thus increasing the potential marketing base for smartcard solutions in the United States, said Heather Klein, director of marketing communications at Giesecke & Devrient, which also makes SIM cards. Operators will want to ensure interoperability between their CDMA and LTE networks.
In developing countries, the SIM has a visible role to play in that it keeps contacts with the user, not the phone, and that it authenticates the phone to the network. In advanced markets like North America, it is not so much involved in the user interface, but in monitoring network behavior. Once operators deploy LTE service, the SIM card will be able to more easily conduct over-the-air updates, Cano said. Today’s SIM cards are limited to sending commands in 160-character text messages. Sending advanced commands via the technology has been cumbersome, he said. “You can do remote maintenance, but it’s not as reliable as it will be going forward.” With the movement to an IP protocol, the card can perform a lot more functions.
The SIM card is now offered in three standard formats – as a SIM card, as an embedded secure element of a device and as a secure micro SD, G&D’s Klein noted. Rugged form factors for SIM cards are appealing to companies that want an embedded M2M solution, Cano explained.
Going forward, some of the best areas of growth will be in the NFC (near-field communications) space and in the growing vertical market sectors that need M2M communications. As NFC gains traction around the globe, both SIM manufacturers expect financial institutions, which already use smart cards, to embed wireless technology in them. However, one of the problems with the intersection of wireless services and financial services is who owns the customer, Cano said. Having a third-party solutions provider is one way to solve that problem. Both Gemalto and G&D have been acquiring companies in recent years to expand their presence in the smart-card space.
Motorola Inc. is introducing what it calls an Intelligent SIM platform that lays over the SIM card. The four millimeter-thick wafer connects the mobile device and the SIM, which can enable operators and enterprises to write applications on the SIM and manage security protocols, said Venkat Eswara, Motorola’s director of marketing for its Applications and Mobile Video Services division. Today, Motorola’s iSIM is geared for 3G networks, but the company plans to move into LTE technology. The platform is available in three chip configurations – as a low-end microcontroller chip, as an NXP Java applet and as an NFC chip. The iSIM platform can store up to four different SIM profiles, which is important for people who travel internationally and need to roam, and for enterprises that are security-focused, like mobile banking applications. Motorola is targeting large enterprises with the platform, noting that large companies can use the iSIM platform to manage the work environment applications of employees who use different networks and different carriers. Bipper Communications is the first company to launch Motorola’s platform to offer parents a way to manage their child’s mobile-phone use, including a safety alarm and location-based service from a Web portal.