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Nov 19, 2010

SIM cards to grow beyond mobile phones









SIM cards to grow beyond mobile phones












 The
world's largest mobile phone network operators today revealed an effort
to expand the GSM wireless communications technology to navigation
devices, cameras, handheld gaming systems, music players, and more
starting in 2012.







 The GSM Association, the consortium
overseeing the widely used mobile phone network technology, said a task
force of members including AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone, China Mobile,
and Deutsche Telekom has begun working on adapting SIM cards so they can
be 


 embedded in many more devices than phones. SIM cards are small,
removable chips that provide phones an identity on GSM wireless
networks, but the embedded SIM will be more an intrinsic part of devices
and will be able to be activated remotely, the GSMA said.



GSM technology began its life as a technology for phone calls, but with
today's 3G and just-arriving LTE incarnations, it's used for data
transfer as well. The embedded SIM effort signals a further growth of
the GSM lineage beyond just voice needs







One trick will be to get new devices onto wireless networks without overtaxing the networks even more.
A camera uploading 100MB worth of photos from the trip to the zoo or a
media player downloading the new tunes and TV shows has the potential to
bring new, heavy data demands to networks, which today are struggling
to keep pace with new-generation smartphones. Still, it is possible that
those new devices would use the network more sporadically, helping
ultimately to bring more subscriber fees to fund carriers' network
construction and upgrades.



Another issue is battery life. Power concerns have helped keep Wi-Fi out
of many devices, such as cameras, since transmitting and receiving
radio signals requires energy. Adding wireless network connectivity also
increases the cost of the device along with whatever flat-rate or
subscription plans.



Finally, there are carrier issues that could play a role, depending on
how the wireless networking is implemented. Customers might not like
buying a wirelessly connected camera if it's locked to a particular
carrier's network, for example.



One specific use case the GSMA mentioned: electronic payments using
near-field communication (NFC) technology, in which payments can be made
by holding a device close to payment station that communicates
wirelessly. Presumably a network connection would help considerably in
processing the transaction in conjunction with a person's financial
institutions. A mobile phone, not some wirelessly connected music
player, would seem a more likely candidate for becoming an electronic
wallet. But not everyone has a phone, and embedded SIMs could make it
easier to make an e-wallet out of a device such as a child's
iPod that doesn't have telephone abilities.



Near-field communications are a hot area right now. Google CEO Eric Schmidt touted an upcoming Android phone that supports near-field communications, and there are rumors that next-gen iPhones could have NFC abilities, too. And U.S. carriers AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile are building a mobile payment network called Isis to enable near-field communication payments.



"The embedded SIM will provide assured levels of security and
portability for consumers, as well as provide additional functionality
for enabling new services such as e-Wallet and NFC applications," Conway
said.



On the embedded SIM task force to develop the technology are
representatives from some of the world's largest carriers: AT&T,
China Mobile, Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom Orange, KT, NTT Docomo,
SK Telecom, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, Verizon Wireless, and Vodafone.
They'll cooperate with with SIM manufacturers, and plan to release an
analysis of market requirements by the end of January, the GSMA said.







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