tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17500930.post4561323260529126153..comments2024-03-20T22:57:03.923+00:00Comments on Dean Bubley's Disruptive Wireless: The SIM card. The single point of failure for the mobile industry as we know it.Dean Bubleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05719150957239368264noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17500930.post-77477428144461674032011-01-02T06:25:15.850+00:002011-01-02T06:25:15.850+00:00A software SIM will be a security nightmare. It wi...A software SIM will be a security nightmare. It will be very hard for operators to perform lawful interception for no fixed subscriber identity (which can change at will).<br /><br />Let us not forget that the most basic function of a SIM (the USIM or ISIM app of the UICC) is to authenticate the user with the network by providing user credentials which feed into an authentication algorithm. These credentials reside on the USIM/ISIM application.<br /><br />SIMs are also cruicial, as these credentials are pre-provisioned in the HLR/HSS. I am not sure how soft SIMs will be provisioned in the network and how they will comply to the regulatory KYC requirements that have to be met before a SIM is assigned to a customer.<br /><br />Moreover, the situation of dynamically switching from one soft SIM to another (like a WiFi connection) will get more messy when we look at it form the perspective of number portability.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17500930.post-78170445583822582452010-11-23T12:14:36.404+00:002010-11-23T12:14:36.404+00:00Hi Terence
Thanks for your comment.
A lot depend...Hi Terence<br /><br />Thanks for your comment.<br /><br />A lot depends on the specific of any implementation that Apple or any other OS or device vendor, or third-party broker might choose. For example, whether we are talking about MVNO-style setups, or roaming-type approaches.<br /><br />And then there's perspective - is it better to have a selection of operators on a device, or a selection of handsets from an operator? <br /><br />Obviously you can put any SIM into an unlocked phone of your choice, but that's only one purchase model at the moment. <br /><br />The M2M SIM-replacement in-field is currently a niche case - but that's partly because the inability to SIM-swap is a barrier to entry for customers in the first place. For smart meters, utility companies are probably better off building their own overlay UHF network, for example.<br /><br />For the toaster case - why does there need to be an enduring billing relationship at all? Why not just wake up once a year for the scheduled maintenance upload, poll to see which GSM networks are visible from that location, request "1 minute access please" on a transactional basis, and then go back to sleep? Billing could be done from the original device supplier, by the user etc.<br /><br />I can see the worry about being "stuck" with service providers chosen by a device vendor - but that's exactly the model that satellite TV uses, for example. Nobody buys a Sky TV dish & box, and then complains they can't get a channel bundle from Virgin Media or BT Vision. Or buys a TomTom and complains they don't get Nokia Navigation.<br /><br />Plus, an embedded SIM might work like embedded WiFi - you flip open the connection manager client & see which networks are available.<br /><br />DeanDean Bubleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05719150957239368264noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17500930.post-83133149614105803362010-11-23T11:45:52.713+00:002010-11-23T11:45:52.713+00:00I'm not quite sure that I understand your poin...I'm not quite sure that I understand your point.<br /><br />As a consumer, I want to be able to swap my service provider at will. I fear that an iPhone Software SIM will only allow me to use the providers that Jobs has blessed. That's crap for consumer choice.<br /><br />Regarding embedded devices, presumably someone is paying for the data sent by your toaster or - more likely - gas metre. Whether it's pre-pay or contract, there's a billing relationship. True, you may wish to switch supplier and a software update may be easier than manually replacing every SIM in the field - but that's a fairly niche case.<br /><br />The only justification I can see for a software SIM would be in a device like the Kindle. I've done some <a href="http://shkspr.mobi/blog/index.php/2010/09/kindle-and-suresignal-or-how-to-find-your-kindles-phone-number/" rel="nofollow">research on the Kindle's (Vodafone) SIM card</a>. Essentially, Amazon act as an MVNO on the Voda network. Because Amazon have offered to pay the network costs rather than the consumer, there's no need for me to be able to change the SIM. <br /><br />Android and BlackBerry devices are now commonly sold on pre-pay. Orange's San Francisco is under £100 for a pretty good phone.<br /><br />You also say "Most people have alternative ID's that are better than phone numbers". So? An IMSI is just a number in a database. That number can link to your FB / Twitter / MySpace account if you want. Or, more practically, it could be tied to your device IMEI.<br /><br />So, what I'm getting at is, the network provider is different from the billing provider is different from the equipment provider. That promotes choice and competition. I don't want to be stuck with a software SIM which is at the mercy of the device manufacturer - or worse, a service provider like Facebook.<br /><br />Terence<br />(This comment box is really small - sorry if I don't make much sense!)<br />(I used to work for an Operator, I don't any more)Terence Edenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10270360564522859892noreply@blogger.com