Samsung Electronics has announced the Samsung Gear S2 Classic 3G as the first device in the market to be equipped with an eSIM compliant to GSMA Consumer Remote SIM Provisioning (RSP) architecture.
Mid last year, there were reports about Samsung and Apple having joined in discussions with mobile carriers for developing programmable embedded SIM card standard – the eSIM. The standard, that could make possible for consumers to switch easily from one mobile network to the other. Staying behind the scene for quite a few months, now the market has it truly as a standard and Samsung’s Gear S2 Classic 3G is the world’s first smart device to feature eSIM.
Although the Gear S2 will be called as the first ever device featuring standard eSIM, Apple had its own SIM (not as this standard) in their iPad for the purpose to switch carriers. So what it means is, the new GSMA standard is something which will be used in future devices by industry partnering manufacturers.
Yunsang Park, Senior Vice President of R&D Office, Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics said:
At Samsung, we aim to meet and anticipate consumers’ needs and the development of the first GSMA-compliant eSIM is further example of our pursuit of meaningful innovation.
We are excited to introduce Samsung Gear S2 3G classic as not only a starting point for more devices to be connected globally, but as a step forward in our commitment to support the development of the IoT market ”
Samsung worked with other industry partners to create a technical specification which will allow users to download a mobile operator’s profile to eSIM based devices.
Samsung has played an instrumental role in driving cross-industry collaboration among global operators and SIM vendors to implement a GSMA compliant eSIM to consumer device. The company worked with several industry partners including: M1 Limited, Orange, Singtel, StarHub Ltd.,Telefónica, TeliaSonera, Vodafone Group and SIM Vendors – Gemalto, Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) and Oberthur Technologies. This group has been working together to create a technical specification, which will allow users to download a mobile network operator’s profile to eSIM-powered companion devices.
Mr. Jean-Christophe Tisseuil, Head of SIM, GSMA said “We worked closely with the mobile industry to create a global and interoperable specification that gives consumers with a mobile subscription the freedom to remotely connect their devices to a mobile network. This is just the beginning of what is possible and will open up the market to new and exciting device.”
Over 40 major industry players support the initiative to grow the Internet of Things by allowing manufacturers to build new products based on this standard eSIM architecture. As expanded by Business Wire, the GSMA specification is backed up by device makers including Apple, Huawei, Microsoft, Sony as well as telecom equipment provider Nokia.
The specification is backed by the world’s largest operators including AT&T, CK Hutchison, Deutsche Telekom, Etisalat, EE, KDDI, NTT DOCOMO, Orange, Rogers, SFR, Sprint, Telefónica, Telenor, TeliaSonera, Telstra, TIM, Transatel, Verizon and Vodafone. It is also supported by SIM and chipset vendors including Gemalto, Giesecke & Devrient, Morpho (Safran), Oasis Smart SIM, Oberthur Technologies, Qualcomm, STMicroelectronics, and Valid, as well as device makers including Apple, Huawei, LG, Microsoft, Samsung and Sony. Telecom equipment provider Nokia and security provider Trustonic also support the specification.
The Gear S2 classic 3G equipped with GSMA compliant eSIM will be available starting from March. According to BW, the GSMA will also release an additional specification in June 2016 that will include remote provisioning for any mobile device.
