Just-In-Time Delivery of Mobile Subscriptions

Secure SIM production environment extended to include Over-the-Air (OTA) interface

SIM cards today are personalized with subscription data for a specific network operator by the SIM card manufacturer at the end of the production process. A pilot project being conducted by Giesecke & Devrient turns the established SIM production world upside down, by migrating the existing subscription management process and thus making it possible for the first time to personalize SIMs over the air after they have been shipped.

This G&D solution is of particular advantage to manufacturers of M2M (machine-to-machine) devices, who will be able to make more extensive use of embedded SIMs in M2M form factors (MFF). The flexibility offered by over-the-air personalization will enable them to achieve high production volumes efficiently. Manufacturers of consumer electronics products such as cameras and e-books will also benefit from the ability to postpone the personalization of embedded SIMs until the time of purchase or even later, when the device is activated for the first time.

Benefits at a glance:

• M2M devices containing embedded SIMs can be manufactured on a large scale for the global market and sold in any country in the world. It makes no difference whether the device is destined for use in the United States or China: they can all be delivered from the same production line.

• There is no longer any need to physically remove the M2M SIM from the device at the end of its lifecycle. The credentials stored on the card can be deleted over the air, thus blocking unwanted traffic caused by fruitless attempts to connect to the network.
• The purchasers of a new device equipped with an embedded SIM are not restricted to one network operator: they are free to choose the operator offering the most suitable subscription package. The data necessary to personalize the embedded SIM are downloaded Over-the-Air (OTA) after purchase and the device is immediately ready for use.
• Users can transfer their subscription to various other devices, for instance an e-book reader or a digital picture frame or a car navigation system.
• Users can also keep the same embedded SIM device when they switch to a new network operator. The credentials stored when the card was first personalized are simply overwritten with the new data.

Open standards are the key to success

The decisive factor governing the success of just-in-time subscription management solutions is the application of open standards. It is for this reason that G&D has been working together with network operators to drive forward the development of embedded-SIM standards for the M2M market and is currently actively involved in joint projects to draw up a new security standard for remote subscription management applications.

At CARTES 2011 in Paris, G&D and its partners demonstrated the results of their first tests of a subscription management solution in a pilot project designed to support the standardization process. In this project, G&D is responsible for supplying the subscription management platform SmartTrust AirOn and the embedded SIMs. To illustrate the openness and interoperability of the new, remotely controlled personalization process, G&D showed how it is possible to integrate SIM cards supplied by a second manufacturer.