Improve supply chain management: IoT roaming and eSIM can help improve logistics efficiency

The global eSIM market will grow from $4.7 billion in 2023 to $16.3 billion by 2027, with a staggering 249% growth rate during the period, and the market will be driven by eSIM-enabled consumer devices.

Mobile phone international roaming has been around for many years. Since the advent of GSM (Second Generation Cellular Radio) in 1991, mobile phone users have been able to use the phone in scenarios other than the home, which usually requires an additional fee.
Leveraging cellular connectivity to manage logistics and asset tracking is something organizations have been doing for years, but managing connectivity across regions and different countries is challenging, especially with smaller players.
Over the past few years, newly released 4G LTE networks have included specific IoT services. LTE-M (Long Term Evolution of Machines) and NB-IoT (Narrowband IoT) provide new low-power wide-area connectivity over cellular networks, and these technologies allow the deployment of a large number of IoT applications. For many years, LTE-M has been very popular in the United States, and NB-IoT has become the standard of choice in Asia and Europe. Both LTE-M and NB-IoT offer a clear path to 5G, as both appear in the specifications for the new radio.
LTE-M supports OTA (Over-the-Air) updates, which offers higher bandwidth advantages and can easily transfer SIM profiles and required updates, making it particularly useful in scenarios where devices are deployed far away or on the move. It is not economically efficient to have field technicians perform the update operation.
It should be noted that 4G and 5G modems are much more expensive than 2G/3G modems, and the former two require more investment from IoT manufacturers. However, many operators are now phasing out 2G and 3G networks, so it is necessary for them to replace old equipment.
NB-IoT and LTE-M are the solutions of choice for most large-scale IoT applications that require low power consumption, cellular network security, and availability. The challenge with this type of IoT application is that – deploying thousands of devices in different regions without having to access each device to change SIM cards – this is where embedded SIMs (eSIMs) come into play.
eSIM provides operator flexibility for the supply chain
The new SIM cards can be as small as a needle and can be integrated on the motherboards of smartphones, routers, M2M platforms, wearables, tablets, sensors, or other mobile devices. However, it does not have an initial credential for a specific carrier. In recent years, an integrated SIM card (iSIM) that is smaller than an eSIM card has begun to appear on the market – an integrated iSIM can be formed by integrating the circuit of the eSIM card into the cellular modem and baseband processor.
Juniper Research believes that iSIM represents the next connectivity evolution beyond eSIM, especially in connected devices and IoT use cases. By completely removing the eSIM card, manufacturers can produce smaller connected devices, which greatly expands the connection range.
By eliminating the need for physical SIM cards, eSIM technology solves a number of key challenges – simplifying the supply chain and dramatically reducing board footprint, circuit complexity, manufacturing costs, and power requirements, thereby increasing processing power.
One of the key advantages of eSIM cards is “OTA credential onboarding”. IoT device manufacturers can integrate eSIM into motherboards, and cellular carriers can securely provide user certificates without human intervention.
Juniper Research pointed out that the value of the global eSIM market will grow from $4.7 billion in 2023 to $16.3 billion in 2027, with a staggering growth rate of 249% during the period, and the market will be driven by consumer devices that support eSIM, as Apple released an eSIM-only iPhone 14 in September 2022, which will trigger operators to increase support for eSIM devices.
Protect and certify IoT devices with eSIM
One of the key advantages of IoT cellular connectivity is “using SIM modules as security devices.” Since the introduction of the Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) on GSM networks, it provides tamper-proof security for credentials to access cellular networks. In addition, it contains encryption keys for applications and protected connected devices.
The same goes for eSIM. The initial root of trust is pre-programmed at a GSMA (Global System for Mobile Communications Association) certified facility and operator credentials are added to the primary security key. GSMA IOT SAFE (IOT SIM APPLET FOR SECURE END-TO-END COMMUNICATION) ENABLES IOT DEVICE MANUFACTURERS AND SERVICE PROVIDERS TO LEVERAGE SIMS AS ROBUST, SCALABLE, STANDARDIZED HARDWARE SECURITY TO SECURE IOT DATA COMMUNICATIONS. While this provides a high level of protection for connected devices, it only applies to devices connected to cellular networks.
Today, many original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are using the eSIM root of trust as a way to securely identify and track embedded connected devices. Because eSIM offers the same level of security and has features that cannot be removed, it is ideal for identifying counterfeit products and monitoring their location around the world.
Five years ago, after the GSMA finally published the eSIM specification, Arm decided to set up a dedicated group to study the potential of eSIM in the Internet of Things. The group spun off in 2020 into Kigen, a newly formed company that is also a subsidiary of Arm.
Device manufacturers do not have secure servers and applications to provide configuration services. For example, an instrument manufacturing company from China makes smart meters for a German utility company that need to be updated with the German carrier’s configuration file. That’s where companies like Kigen come into market.
Paul Bradley, director of strategy and innovation at Kigen, explained at the recent IoT Solutions World Conference: “eSIM is closely related to chip-to-cloud security or device-to-device security. Today, you have the same root of trust to store the credentials used to authenticate to the mobile network. Tomorrow, even in the deployments we’ve already seen, you can use the same security to store not only network authentication credentials, but also credentials to communicate with the cloud where your application resides. ”
Kigen CEO Vincent Korstanje told the media last year: “The key to e-SIM is its excellent security standards, but now it is more feasible and easier to deploy for large-scale IoT deployments. If you don’t want to send a technician to replace the SIM card on-site, you can do it electronically remotely. ”
On March 29-30, 2023, AspenCore will hold the International Integrated Circuit Exhibition and Seminar (IIC Shanghai 2023) in Shanghai, and the “RF and Wireless Communication Technology Forum” held at the same time invites leading Internet of Things chip suppliers, RF design and system solution providers at home and abroad, etc. Welcome interested friends to click here and communicate at the venue.
IoT roaming is expected to grow exponentially
In the case of permanent roaming, IoT roaming occurs when a connected device/sensor is temporarily or permanently connected to a network other than the home network.
According to a Juniper Research report last year, the number of roaming IoT connections worldwide will increase from 300 million in 2022 to 1.8 billion in 2027, an increase of up to 500% during this period. The report ranks UK-based Vodafone Business as a leading service provider in IoT roaming.
In addition, the report also said that network operators are increasingly turning their attention to the enterprise market, mainly due to the growth of roaming IoT connectivity. Currently, operators cannot monetize enterprise-led M2M and IoT traffic on their networks if they do not have a direct relationship with enterprise customers. As enterprises accelerate their adoption of private 5G networks, operators risk losing out on lucrative revenue opportunities. In this regard, operators can establish direct roaming agreements with enterprise customers who are responsible for traffic transmission between the private and public networks. Once a direct relationship is established with an enterprise customer, there will also be ample opportunities for cross-selling and up-selling of related technologies and services.