The days of fumbling about to get a SIM card into your mobile phone may soon be over.
Major producers like Apple and Samsung are in talks with telecom representatives GSMA about replacing the physical SIM card and instead integrating SIM functions directly in the phones.
The current setup has consumers switching SIM cards whenever they want to change carriers. The e-SIM card would be embedded within the device itself and be reprogrammable to work with any supported carrier.
Easy switch
The switch would allow customers to switch immediately from one service provider to another.
“This would provide better competition and make it easy, especially on overseas holidays, to switch to a local and cheaper solution,” Kenneth Olsen from Nkom, Norway’s national communications authority, told the net magazine E24.
GSMA has announced that it is close to a deal on how the e-Sim card could be standardised.
Maybe next year
Once the technical specifications have been negotiated, manufacturers can start integrating e-Sim cards in their next generation smartphones.
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The e-SIM card could be a part of new mobile phones as early as next year.
