China News Service, October 11 (Zhongxin Finance reporter Wu Tao) "Relevant units are being organized to study and promote the application of eSIM technology in tablet computers, portable computers and smart phone devices, and expand the application scope of eSIM technology when conditions are ripe." Recently, the eSIM mentioned by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in response to questions from netizens has attracted attention.

　　What is this eSIM that is directly integrated into the mobile phone without slotting the card in the mobile phone?

What are the advantages?

Will the SIM card be completely replaced in the future?

What are the benefits of eSIM?

　　eSIM is actually an electronic SIM card, which is a data file that can be downloaded to a mobile terminal through the network.

With it, various electronic terminals can connect to the Internet, make calls, send text messages, etc., and the functions are the same as ordinary SIM cards.

Screenshot of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology website.


　　The highly integrated eSIM solution can firstly solve the problem that the SIM card slot occupies a large amount of mobile phone space.

Although the Nano SIM card is very small now, the space saved by the card slot can bring more innovation to the already thin and light mobile phone.

　　The history of the SIM card can be said to have been evolving to "small", from the SIM card to the mini SIM card, to the Micro SIM card, and finally to the well-known Nano SIM card, each time the size is reduced.

　　A white paper released by China Unicom in 2019 shows that the eSIM solution integrated in the hardware occupies only 1/3 of the Nano SIM card and will evolve to a smaller size.

　　In addition, the SIM card slot also affects the waterproof performance of the phone.

The eSIM is integrated inside the mobile phone and does not need to be slotted on the body, which can improve the waterproof level of the mobile phone.

　　It is convenient to change the eSIM number, you can apply online, you do not need to go to the offline physical business hall, but also save the trouble of mailing the SIM card.

This approach is called "card writing in the air" by some analysts.

　　In addition, the use of eSIM can easily achieve dual-card dual standby.

For example, according to an early introduction on Apple's official website, on an iPhone, users can install eight or more eSIMs and use two phone numbers at the same time, even using separate numbers for voice and data.

　　A research report from a securities company pointed out that eSIM has the characteristics of low power consumption, high energy efficiency ratio, stable operation, strong anti-interference ability and low cost in IoT applications. It is expected that the application of eSIM in the IoT industry will be further improved.

Will eSIM completely replace SIM cards?

　　Many people may be wondering, with so many benefits, will eSIM replace traditional SIM cards?

Why has eSIM been widely used in various IoT devices for so many years, but it has been difficult to capture the mobile phone market?

eSIM can be applied to a variety of terminals.

Photo by Wu Tao of China News Service 

　　"The core challenge on the mobile phone side of eSIM is the interconnection of operators. eSIM realizes remote configuration through 'over-the-air card writing', which can be activated in batches, flexibly change contracts, and change operators. However, for operators, the threshold for users to switch to the network is lowered, which is very difficult for users. The control power is reduced." The research report released by Huaxi Securities recently pointed out.

　　However, previously, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued a reply to the three major operators to carry out eSIM technology application services in the Internet of Things and other fields. It is mentioned that effective measures should be taken to ensure the management right of the eSIM platform and the right to write cards for the eSIM terminal. Formally authorize other companies to activate relevant permissions and functions.

　　The reporter noticed that some operators are currently promoting the super SIM card, which is a solution that integrates functions such as security and payment to provide a one-card solution.

For example, it can be used as a school meal card, transportation card, access control card, car key, bank U-shield, electronic signature, etc.

　　Fu Liang, an independent telecommunications analyst, told Zhongxin Finance that in a short time, eSIM will not completely replace physical SIM cards, and super SIM cards will not completely replace traditional SIM cards.

　　There are also views that eSIM may have a huge impact on the mobile phone market.

The US version of the iPhone 14 series released in 2022 will no longer reserve a SIM card slot, but will be replaced by an eSIM. This is the first time that the iPhone has completely eliminated the physical card slot on some models.

However, Fu Liang believes that Apple will not push the iPhone without a physical card slot in the Chinese market. After all, the standard cannot be determined by a certain mobile phone manufacturer.

　　A research report recently released by Huaxi Securities pointed out that eSIM is developing rapidly in the field of Internet of Things, but the mobile terminal still needs the joint efforts of many parties.

Especially in the current consumer-level market, the promotion of eSIM policies on the mobile phone side still requires coordinated promotion of policies and industries compared with IoT applications.

　　According to Counterpoint Research, the annual shipment of eSIM devices will reach 6 billion by 2025.

Among them, mobile eSIM shipments will account for 45%.

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