BARCELONA, 4nd March 2015—Industry experts in the M2M and the IoT space gathered to discuss the future of the IoT and the deployment of the Embedded SIM for M2M based on the GSMA’s Embedded SIM Specification.
The session ‘The GSMA Embedded SIM Specification: from Concept to Reality’ session focused on the impact of the GSMA Specification on the growth of M2M with panellists Cameron Coursey, Vice President Product Development, Emerging Devices Organisation, AT&T Mobility, Deniel Kostelac, Chief Architect Consumer IT, Volvo, Andrés Escribano, M2M Horizontal Product Director, Telefónica Digital, Hervé Pierre,Chairman of the Board, SIM Alliance, Senior Director, Strategy, Gemalto and Gary Waite, Executive Director – Embedded SIM, Connected Living, GSMA.
Panellists universally agreed that they expect the specification to be widely adopted by operators and module suppliers, with whom it is increasingly gaining momentum. This follows an announcement on March 2nd, 2015 in which confirmed that the GSMA Embedded SIM specification was backed by two major M2M alliances and a series of other network operators including: Etisalat, KPN, NTT DOCOMO, Rogers, Singtel, Telefónica, Telstra, VimpelCom and Telenor Connexion who form the M2M World Alliance, and Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telecom Italia, TeliaSonera, Bell Canada and SoftBank from the Global M2M Association (GMA). In addition, operators América Móvil, China Mobile, KDDI, Telecom Slovenia, Tele2 have aslo agreed ot luacnh services based on the GSMA Specification.
Panellists were further reassured by the recent publication of the GSMA Business Processing Paper for Remote Provisioning in M2M, the purpose which is to provide specimen points for M2M OEMs and Operators providing eUICC-based services based in M2M.
It was also highlighted that companies entering into M2M collaborations that were underpinned by the specification would essentially have more flexibility. The remotely provisionable SIM means that both operators and manufacturers will be able to slip seamlessly into and out of agreements with minimum loss to themselves and the consumer.
A point echoed by most panellists was throughout the session was that the GSMA Specification would drive Innovation. When Deniel Kostelac, Chief Architect, Consumer IT, Volvo, was asked whether it would play a significant role in innovation at Volvo’s he responded: ‘For us it makes sense. It makes so much sense’.
According to Kostelac, one of the prime advantages of manufacturing cars with an Embedded SIM was that there would be perpetual revenue opportunities for service providers third party partners.
During the seminar the Connected Living team ran a real time ‘Poll Everywhere’ which revealed that the most important issue to delegates was SIM Profile Interoperability and the adoption of the Specification in non-automotive segments.
In terms of immediate market potential, the discussion revolved around the automotive vertical, with panellists agreeing that there were multiple revenue opportunities for operators, and device manufactures in this space. Nonetheless, speakers also saw this as an inroad to a wide range of different verticals and expected the GSMA solution to facilitate innovation in IoT and M2M services and products in other verticals in the near future.