DUBAI, United Arab Emirates--(BUSINESS WIRE)--At the Mobile 360 Series-Middle East conference in Dubai, the GSMA announced that leading mobile operators AT&T, Etisalat, NTT DOCOMO, Telefónica and Vodafone Group alongside SIM and module manufacturers Gemalto, Giesecke & Devrient, Morpho (Safran), Oberthur Technologies, Sierra Wireless and Telit have all launched solutions compliant with the GSMA Embedded SIM Specification for the remote ‘over the air’ provisioning of machine-to-machine (M2M) devices. Additional operators and ecosystem partners including Ericsson, Jasper and Telenor Connexion have also committed to launch.
“Our vision has always been to unite all stakeholders behind a single, common and global specification that will help accelerate the growing M2M market. It has also been our intention for the GSMA Embedded SIM specification to become the de facto industry standard,” said Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology Officer, GSMA. “Industry-wide adoption sets us on the path for the long-term growth and development of the industry and we welcome the news that the M2M community is ready to do business using the specification.”
The announcement confirms that the industry is moving towards a single, common and interoperable specification that will accelerate the M2M market, reducing fragmentation caused by proprietary solutions. An independent study by Beecham Research supports this, estimating that the immediate industry-wide adoption and deployment of the GSMA Embedded SIM Specification will deliver 34 per cent higher market growth by 2020.
The GSMA Embedded SIM Specification allows mobile network operators to provide scalable, reliable and secure connectivity for M2M connected devices that are often hermetically sealed, such as in the connected car or in smart meters. It also facilitates over-the-air operator provisioning and management, which provides service flexibility to end customers. The GSMA Embedded SIM Specification promotes a common global architecture that will reduce costs, drive efficiencies and further accelerate the rapidly growing M2M market, which is set to reach 244 million global connections this year, according to GSMA Intelligence.
Adoption Will Accelerate the M2M Market and Support the Growth of IoT
A new independent report from Beecham Research titled, ‘Benefits Analysis of GSMA Embedded SIM Specification on the Mobile Enabled M2M Industry’, has highlighted that the immediate adoption and deployment of the GSMA Embedded SIM Specification will accelerate the growth of the embedded M2M market by up to 34 per cent by 2020. This will generate approximately US $8.9 billion in connectivity revenues for mobile operators in 2020 alone. Beecham Research estimates that the embedded M2M SIM connection market could reach 639 million connections globally – up from approximately 478 million by 2020 - if the GSMA technical specification is adopted as the de facto standard during 2014-15. Beecham Research anticipates that the automotive sector will be at the forefront of this growth with high adoption also in consumer electronics.
Availability of Test Specifications Will Provide Market Assurance
The GSMA has published Embedded SIM test specifications for remote provisioning solution providers that will give assurance that different embedded SIM remote provisioning systems functionally comply with the GSMA Embedded SIM technical specification. The GSMA has also launched a security accreditation scheme for remote provisioning subscription management service providers to ensure that the robust security and product integrity requirements are maintained.
Embedded SIM at Mobile 360 Series-Middle East Event
The GSMA will showcase a number of demonstrations of the GSMA Embedded SIM Specification at its Mobile 360 Series-Middle East conference held this week in Dubai. Attendees will experience demonstrations of how the Embedded SIM will impact the connected car in the future, including an interactive augmented reality display showcasing mobile entertainment, vehicle telematics and associated services, such as connected insurance. For further information on Mobile 360-Middle East please go to: http://www.mobile360series.com/middle-east/
For more information on the GSMA’s Embedded SIM please go to: http://www.gsma.com/connectedliving/connected-living-mobilising-the-internet-of-things/
To download the Beecham Research Report go to: http://www.gsma.com/newsroom/wp-content/uploads/BRL-Benefits-Analysis-GSMA-Embedded-SIM-Specification-2014.pdf
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QUOTES FROM PARTNERS WITH COMPLIANT SOLUTIONS:
AT&T
“We were the first operator to launch a Global SIM designed to help multi-national organisations wirelessly connect and manage M2M devices, machines, or cars with a single platform around the world. It is based on the GSMA Embedded SIM specification as we believe a unified solution is in the industry’s best interests and will accelerate the adoption of Embedded SIMs,” said Chris Penrose, Senior Vice President of Emerging Devices, AT&T.
ETISALAT
Khalifa Al Shamsi, Chief Digital Services Officer, Etisalat Group, said: “We are thrilled to be one of the pioneers contributing to the first roll out of the ‘Embedded SIM’ specification for M2M services. Etisalat started to work with Automotive manufactures as early as 2012 as we clearly saw the potential of the solution to pave the way for global demand for IoT and M2M. Now Etisalat leads the internet of Things domain offering the first eSIM in Middle East compliant with the GSMA’s Embedded SIM Specification for M2M.”
GEMALTO
“Gemalto sees tremendous benefit in the growth of the M2M market from the implementation of the GSMA Embedded SIM specification. Our M2M solutions are compliant with the GSMA specifications and we are excited about the easier roadmap this will bring to commercial projects leveraging these interoperable standards to meet the growing demand of the M2M industry,” said Benoit Jouffrey, Vice President On-Demand Connectivity Solutions at Gemalto.
GIESECKE & DEVRIENT
“G&D welcomes the GSMA Embedded SIM initiative that we believe will help to grow the M2M market. We are proud to be at the forefront of secure over the air subscription management by working closely with MNO partners in commercial projects and in the development of the GSMA specifications,” said Carsten Ahrens, Group Senior Vice President, Head of Telecommunication Industries division at Giesecke & Devrient. “We can now announce the availability of our first solution supporting the GSMA Specifications and that we have already deployed this commercially.”
MORPHO (SAFRAN)
“Morpho’s involvement in the GSMA Embedded SIM solution for the M2M ecosystem shows our continued commitment to this project to meet market demands. We are proud to be actively participating in this collaborative project and to have commercially available solutions which embrace the new GSMA specifications,” said Philippe d’Andréa, Executive Vice President at Morpho Business Solutions Division. “We are committed to delivering solutions which simplify and secure the lives of people around the world.”
NTT DOCOMO
“We recently introduced Japan’s first eSIM that works on mobile networks of various international operators for M2M Devices. It is based on the GSMA Embedded SIM specification as we think that a unified solution will accelerate the adoption of Embedded SIMs across the world. We believe that eSIM will simplify manufacturing and inventory-management tasks, and creates major advantages for global M2M enterprises,” commented Naoki Tani, Managing Director of NTT DOCOMO’s M2M Business Department.
OBERTHUR TECHNOLOGIES
"The M2M market is going to greatly benefit from the GSMA Embedded SIM specifications. Common specifications adopted by all parties of the M2M ecosystem will encourage the deployment of billions of M2M devices, prevent unnecessary market fragmentation. OT embraces the GSMA Embedded SIM specification and has already launched a set of GSMA compliant products and platforms. Customers choosing OT GSMA solutions can therefore be sure to adopt a future proof solution,” said Cedric Collomb, Managing Director of the Telecom Business Unit at Oberthur Technologies.
SIERRA WIRELESS
“A number of our 3G and 4G LTE M2M and Automotive products are compliant and ready to be released to the market based on the GSMA Embedded SIM specification. We have worked closely with the GSMA and industry partners to create products that adhere to a globally recognised solution that will avoid unnecessary fragmentation and ensure the M2M and Automotive market grows rapidly,” said Olivier Beaujard, VP Market Development, Sierra Wireless.
TELEFÓNICA
“We have been working with the GSMA for more than three years in order to obtain a unique and interoperable Embedded SIM solution. For over a year now we’ve had a product in the market with tens of thousands of SIMs deployed - a product that is interoperable with our M2M World alliance partners. We are now proud to announce that this product is fully compatible with the new GSMA ESIM specifications, giving it even greater potential as the M2M market rapidly grows,” commented Surya Mendonça, Global Managing Director for M2M at Telefónica.
TELIT WIRELESS SOLUTIONS
“The unique environmental requirements of machine-to-machine and automotive applications have long pointed to the need for an industrial quality SIM solution. As an extension of our commitment to providing unparalleled product quality and reliability, we are grateful to the GSMA for their work in creating a standardized Embedded SIM specification, pleased to have been a part of its definition, and delighted to be among the first to offer a commercial solution based on this standard.” - Felix Marchal, Chief Product Officer, Telit Wireless Solutions.
About the GSMA
The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide. Spanning more than 220 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world’s mobile operators with 250 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and Internet companies, as well as organisations in industry sectors such as financial services, healthcare, media, transport and utilities. The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as Mobile World Congress and Mobile Asia Expo.
For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com. Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA.