GSMA Completes First Phase of Smart SIM Initiative

(Business News & Technology News, 26 Nov 2009)

The GSMA has completed the first phase of its Smart SIM initiative and has published three white papers outlining the commercial implementation of the technology. Led by the GSMA, this initiative aims to drive the development and adoption of the Smart SIM, which will enhance the mobile user experience by providing simplified, transferable and consistent access to services, data, applications and settings, irrespective of device type. The first phase of the project worked to ensure that consistent interoperability between mobile handsets and SIMs can be achieved, aligning device requirements and analyzing the various SIM business models and sharing them with industry partners.

"Use of Smart SIM technology will mean that operators will be able to deliver a variety of capabilities without having to manage extensive and complex commercial relationships or a mix of handset, operating system and chipset technologies," said Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Strategy Officer at the GSMA. "With the backing of some of the world's largest operators, OEMs and software developers, the mobile industry will address customer demand for the simplicity and transferability of user device settings, applications and data, from handset to handset."

The completion of the first phase of the project was achieved through the participation of 23 members, including 12 mobile operators representing more than 1.2 billion subscribers, as well as SIM vendors, handset and device OEMs, software developers and other key players across the mobile ecosystem. The 23 members include AT&T, China Mobile, Gemalto, Giesecke & Devrient, Infineon, KT, Latvian Mobile Telephone, LG, MCCI, Microsoft, Oberthur Technologies, Option, Orange, Sagem Orga, Samsung, SK Telecom, Softbank Mobile, SST, STC, Swisscom, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, and Telenor.

The GSMA's Smart SIM initiative will provide operators, handset manufacturers, software developers and chipset vendors with the ability to create a 'smart execution' environment and provide a common and interoperable approach to application and service development. The initiative is focused on creating a business environment whereby data mobility, service mobility and enhanced user experience is guaranteed resulting in standardized, interoperable and rich environments that will be used to build new services and applications.

The completion of this first phase lays the groundwork for the next phase of the Smart SIM initiative. The focus for phase 2 is to promote the technology across the mobile industry and expand the Smart SIM ecosystem by carrying out global trials of Smart SIM services in 2010.