Vodafone, Qualcomm Technologies and Thales showed the first working iSim prototype, a step towards the abandonment of physical sims for smartphones.
This is a new technology that promises to integrate the functionality of a calling card into the main processor of a mobile phone or tablet, so as not to have to dedicate a specific slot as is the case today.
The iSim complies with the specifications dictated by GSMA, the organization that regulates and represents the global telephone operators, and incorporates the traditional functionality of a card with the benefit of higher performance and greater memory capacity.
As the proponents explain, the iSim is a natural evolution of the eSim, which never caught on because they still need a separate chip to work. Once you have built processors with integrated iSim instead, there will be no need for anything else to activate your number and the preferred offer, changing manager when you want. A demonstration, on the Vodafone network, allowed to try the iSim on a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G powered by a Snapdragon 888 5G processor, with the addition of a Thales iSIM operating system, compared to the models currently on sale, capable of managing the integrated card.
This test took place in Samsung's R&D labs, using Vodafone's advanced remote management platform.
Alex Froment-Curtil, chief commercial officer, Vodafone, said: "Our goal is to create a world where every device connects simply and seamlessly, and the customer is in complete control. The iSim, combined with our remote management platform, it is an important step in this direction, allowing devices to be connected without a physical sim or a dedicated chip, making connectivity to many objects a reality. "
