Decouple hardware from connectivity with SGP.32

While embedded SIM (eSIM) technology has been around for a while, the GSMA’s SGP.32 standard has been developed with IoT deployments in mind. This has the potential to revolutionize the industry, as the new standard is conceived and designed to deal with the realities of the IoT, which includes screenless and keyboard-less devices, low-power environments, and long lifetimes.

There are other issues it solves, such as those around connectivity. At its core, SGP.32 enables remote profile download and life cycle management on the eUICC, including enable, disable, delete, and profile replacement workflows. In many IoT deployments, this can be done without local user interaction, provided the device and initial connectivity setup support it. The benefits are evident. 

“In the beginning, IoT SIMs were mostly provisioned with one network profile,” said Sönke Schröder, Director Global Go-To-Market Strategy and Innovations at G+D. But use cases have proliferated since those early days. IoT logistics, to take just one instance, requires assets to be tracked as they traverse multiple regions, where operator profiles may need to be changed remotely over time. “Global deployments require you to be efficient and flexible,” he emphasized. Fewer on-site installation and maintenance visits, simpler contracts, and less vendor lock-in are just some of the benefits an enterprise unlocks when they’re allowed to provision their devices remotely and at scale. 

But how exactly does this new standard deliver more flexible, scalable, and manageable IoT deployments? It starts with a simple premise.

Decouple hardware from connectivity

What unlocking hardware from the question of connectivity means in practice is that IoT devices can be built and then deployed and operated without being tied to a single network or operator. Business and operational needs evolve; the new standard means that the IoT can follow suit. 

SGP.32-compatible eUICCs can store and manage multiple profiles, which can be activated, deactivated, or replaced remotely through a centralized management system. This also supports constrained environments. Depending on device capability, profile download may be direct, or it may be assisted indirectly by the eIM for devices with limited bandwidth, power, or protocol support. This is highly relevant for truly massive deployments, where the numbers could potentially rise into the millions, and for long-lived devices that stay in the field for a decade or longer. Operators and businesses can update the connectivity profile used by their devices remotely, improving coverage options, resilience, and cost control over time. This mitigates the commercial risk of a punitive contract, or the decline or even demise of an operator. 

Regulatory requirements continue to evolve, particularly around roaming, localization, security, and data handling. SGP.32 can support compliance strategies by making profile localization and connectivity changes easier to manage remotely. However, enterprises still need to address the relevant regulatory, certification, and data-governance obligations separately.

Powering the new reality: eIM

The eSIM IoT Manager, or eIM, is the brain that enables the success of the new standard. “Think of the eIM as an orchestration layer, enabling life cycle management at fleet scale,” said Schröder. Based in the cloud or in the enterprise network, it manages profile life cycle operations across devices. Initial connectivity is typically provided through a bootstrap or provisioning profile. Once the device is reachable, the eIM can coordinate profile downloads, activations, deactivations, and operator profile changes. Deployed in the cloud or an enterprise backend environment, the eIM manages profile life cycle operations across devices and fleets, while the SM-DP+ remains responsible for profile preparation, hosting, and secure delivery.

The idea is to provide scalability with minimal human intervention. The eIM is designed to support large-scale fleet management for low-power, unattended, and long-lived IoT deployments. “With an eIM working in concert with SGP.32, connectivity becomes a software-controlled resource,” smiled Schröder. “You are no longer locked into a single operator choice made at deployment, because profile decisions can be revisited over the device life cycle, at any stage.” 

Simpler, more efficient, and effective global fleet management is just one benefit. Devices operating in different regions can be configured to use the best local network without needing new hardware, while existing deployments can be adapted remotely as an organization – and its fleet of devices – expand into new markets. But even the eIM needs an additional element to truly shine.

Bosses need the right assistants

If the eIM is the invisible boss that runs the show, the IoT Profile Assistant (IPA) is the software on the device itself that enables the magic to happen. With the eIM as the orchestration layer, the IPA enables the workflows. It can run on the device (IPAd) or in the eUICC (IPAe). It enables secure communication with the eIM and conveys commands and results between the eIM and the eUICC. Working together, the eIM and the IPA unlock the true potential of SGP.32.

The use cases include deployments where there are large numbers of devices, mobility is a factor, and the longevity of the devices is a consideration. In the automotive industry, a vehicle will be operated over a period of many years, and by virtue of its mobility, it can traverse borders and networks. Seamless connectivity is a baseline requirement in this new era of mobility, especially for software-defined vehicles (SDVs). Asset tracking in the logistics field is another obvious use case, as loads move between regions. The industrial IoT and smart infrastructure also stand out as areas of interest. “Devices that monitor utilities, the environment, and critical infrastructure could remain in place for decades,” Schröder pointed out. SGP.32 makes it possible for connectivity to evolve alongside these use cases, powering devices for decades to come.

Built for the future

Future-proofing is a strong term. But for enterprises with a stake in the IoT, SGP.32 makes planning for connectivity changes easier by aligning the whole strategy – including hardware, platforms, and services – around a standard that has been purpose-built for the IoT. No standard fully future-proofs a deployment. However, SGP.32 improves long-term adaptability by aligning hardware, platforms, and connectivity management with IoT-specific life cycle requirements.

This allows enterprises to get on with what they do, harnessing the data and insights their devices provide and the outcomes they enable, rather than worrying about keeping them online. This also unlocks partnerships and opportunities that may not have existed before.

Recently, Rivian announced a collaboration with G+D to support SGP.32-enabled eSIM technology in its upcoming R2 platform, positioning it among the early automotive adopters of the standard. G+D has also collaborated with Amazon for the release of the eero Signal, one of the world’s first commercial deployments of the SGP.32 standard.  

“What SGP.32 does is enable the industry to think about connectivity as a life cycle capability, rather than a configuration choice you make once,” stressed Schröder. “Now that the standard is operational, we can support it with an end-to-end stack designed for remote life cycle management within the defined scope of our supported components and services.”

Is your enterprise also ready for this new era of the IoT?