The GSMA Embedded SIM Specification has been widely endorsed by both Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and automakers as a means to accelerate the growth of the connected car market. The advantages are clear and many; for example, infotainment, telematics and remote diagnostics will be the source of new revenue streams for operators, and for automotive OEMs, the cost of installing a GSMA Embedded SIM Spec during the manufacturing process is 10 per cent of the cost of installing a propriety solution.
Ultimately, MNOs, automakers and industry experts all seem to agree on the logic that the GSMA Embedded SIM Specification will reduce market fragmentation and enable the market to scale, thereby bringing advantages to all players in the ecosystem. This mutual enthusiasm is reflected in a number of partnerships that operators have secured with automakers and related service providers over the last few months.
This manoeuvring falls in line with connected car forecasts, such as Machina Research’s latest prediction, that the number of connected cars globally, will jump from 162 million in 2015, to 689 million in 2020, with sales alone rising from €26 billion to €109 billion over the same period.
Yet despite the industry’s focus on the impact of the GSMA Embedded SIM Specification on the automotive sector, decision makers should consider what impact its success will have on other verticals. As the popularity and success of the connected car becomes increasingly apparent, key players such as OEMs in other verticals will be encouraged to adopt and implement the Specification.
Indeed, this point was raised recently in Beecham Research’s report, Benefits Analysis of GSMA Embedded SIM Specification on the Mobile Enabled M2M Industry which asserts that the success of Embedded SIM in the auto sector will bleed into a number of other verticals such as consumer electronics, transport and utilities.
According to Beecham, solutions and products in these verticals will reach the market after 2016, sometime after connected cars use the GSMA Specification. There are numerous industries that are in a prime position take off, such as the Bicycle industry, where 132 million bikes around the world are sold each year. What is interesting here is that the GSMA Embedded SIM Specification may well have particular benefits to each sector, with several different use cases demonstrated earlier this year’s at Mobile World Congress, Barcelona.
Despite other verticals being slower to adopt the Specification, key players in m2m would do well to forge partnerships and collaborative agreements in order to strengthen their position in advance. To find out more about how the GSMA is helping to accelerate the growth of the IoT across a range of different verticals, click here.
