Our favourite story from MWC Shanghai
It’s a wrap! MWC Shanghai is over for another year, which gives us a moment to reflect on the big takeaways from the event.
Endless articles were written last week about the 5G theme. It was in-fact quite incredible — the words ‘5G’ plastered on everything from TVs, to games consoles, drones, smartphones, robots controlled by humans and robots to control humans, submarines, surveillance boats, Amazon-style in-store shopping experiences and incredibly a face mask which, through the power of ‘5G’ and a mobile app, could advise you if your face was dirty or not (L’Oréal take note). Are the noise reduction algorithms of 5G having an opposite effect on its marketing?
For me, the biggest takeaway wasn’t 5G face masks, robots playing piano or televisions bizarrely spinning on robotic arms (powered by 5G), but rather an announcement by Qualcomm about the new Snapdragon 855 application processor. Snapdragon processors are inside billions of devices already, but something makes the 855 subtly different to its predecessors.
For the very first time, an eSIM is included inside the Snapdragon processor. Technically, it is called an ‘Integrated SIM’, and it conforms to GSMA Consumer Remote SIM Provisioning standards. Whilst similar to the Truphone/Synopsys integrated SIM solution announced in 2018, the twist with the Snapdragon announcement is that it has also passed ‘Common Criteria EAL-4+’ security certification — putting its physical security on a par with a traditional smart-card. That includes your bank card, or a standard telecoms SIM card or even the eSIM chip inside the latest iPhone.
Qualcomm first presented this concept over three years ago at MWC Barcelona and has worked with Gemalto for at least three years to develop this technology. For the SIM Manufacturing industry, the solution has implications — it removes the need for a separate physical chip (MFF2 or WLCSP form factor) to be purchased by OEMs/ODMs and soldered into a device to support eSIM. The eSIM operating system software can now run on one of the dedicated secure processing units of future Qualcomm Snapdragon processors while meeting the same level of security as a regular physically separate chip.
So, for me, the big takeaway is that MWC Shanghai kicked off the start of the integrated SIM generation. With integrated SIM technology comes real scale — eSIM support is native to the device application processor. This is excellent news for customers.
What could it mean for industry players?
· For Mobile Operators: From 2020, devices with Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 could natively support eSIM — an excellent chance for operators to capture new customers through digital channels and reduce the fulfillment cost of physical SIM cards.
· For Customers: Many more devices with eSIM support should be available next year.
· For ODMs/OEMs: Adding eSIM support to devices can be achieved with Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 without the need for a separate eSIM chip.
· For Remote SIM Provisioning platform providers: Expect to see increased demand for remote SIM provisioning services as more devices support eSIM and more operators embrace the technology.
Notes from the Qualcomm stand
Qualcomm advised us that this solution is not commercially available in the Qualcomm 855 processor; instead, this is a pre-launch demonstration. The Snapdragon 865, to be released in 2020, will be the first Qualcomm Snapdragon processor to offer Integrated SIM capabilities commercially to the market.
About Truphone
Truphone supplies some of the world’s biggest OEMs and mobile operators with eSIM and connectivity technologies. We recently announced surpassing one million consumer eSIM installs across 180 countries.
Why choose Truphone’s Remote SIM Provisioning platform?
· One platform for consumer and M2M eSIM use cases
· eSIM profiles on-boarded within five days
· Trusted by some of the world’s biggest companies
· Flexible and straightforward pay-as-you-go commercial terms. No lock-ins.
· No customer is too small, get in touch today to start your eSIM story.
