The space for eSIM is growing, as this technology becomes a useful tool for IoT deployments – with an estimated 6 billion eSIM shipped by 2025 and IoT accounting for 40 percent of those shipments. KORE examines whether eSIM will be the linchpin that opens the globe to massive IoT deployments in a keynote address followed by a panel discussion with Kigen during the eSIM Summit at Mobile World Congress Barcelona on March 2.
Massive IoT is defined as a wide ecosystem of connected devices driving solutions across key verticals. Some examples of IoT include precision farming within agriculture, sensors enabling smart utilities, or connected devices enabling remote patient monitoring outside of a clinical setting.
The idea is that within this web of connected devices, significant results can be yielded – like optimisation, efficiency, sustainability, or enhanced quality of life. Maturing network technologies – such as 4G LTE and 5G, as well as low power wide area (LPWA) networks, like Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) and Long-Term Evolution for Machine-Type Communications (LTE-M) – have the capabilities to uphold Massive IoT with their various requirements.
The key characteristics of Massive IoT – the size and spread – bring a challenge, however. The connectivity ecosystem to support Massive IoT can be diverse. Not all components of an entire Massive IoT deployment may use the same network or carrier connectivity.
In fact, some deployments can use multi-carrier, multi-technology connectivity, such as satellite and cellular. Some solutions might need to switch between carriers or technologies to stay seamlessly connected. Or some Massive IoT deployments might be located in hard-to-reach areas, such as utilities. If a network carrier change or turndown were to occur in a solution that has hundreds of thousands of SIMs deployed, regardless of how accessible the devices are, having to physically swap out those SIM cards has the potential to be time-consuming, expensive, and create disruptions in the operation of the solution.
That’s where eSIM can be the linchpin to Massive IoT success by addressing some of these hurdles.
Prior to eSIM, creating solutions that could connect across a large area, region, country, or even globally was a greater challenge. Now, with the eUICC eSIM, such challenges can be addressed with greater simplicity:
Hosting multiple profiles: With the ability to host more than one profile, eSIM can help solutions sidestep carrier lock-in and ensure diverse and future-proofed connectivity.
Zero-touch provisioning: In the event of carrier changes or turndowns, eSIMs can be provisioned to connect to another network.
Scalability: Whether its OEMs manufacturing IoT devices or providers enabling IoT solutions, leveraging an eSIM with a single SKU for global deployments helps ensure that solutions and devices can connect anywhere in the world.
During the keynote presentation, KORE will discuss how eSIM can help enable Massive IoT deployments and where this technology fits in opening the globe to extensive IoT enablement, as well as how to optimise a technology that is rapidly developing in a competitive market.
The panel discussion with Kigen afterward will tackle security, global IoT scale, as well as the future outlook for eSIM and comparable technologies.
KORE will also be on hand during MWC Barcelona February 28 through March 3. Interested in learning more about KORE? Book some time and we’ll see you there. Check out our eBook, “The Practicalities of eSIM for IoT: A Hands-On Guide for Business and Enterprise Companies” for an expert analysis of eSIM.
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