UICC & SIM

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Different Size of SIM Cards

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• SIM stands Subscriber Identity Module• Most people do not know that once upon a time the SIM cards were

the size of credit cards, we called them just SIM• Since then they have evolved to Mini, Micro and Nano SIMs• They are evolving further into embedded SIM (eSIM) and integrated

SIM (iSIM)

Multi-SIM Cards

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Form factors innovation enabling new devices

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SIM eSIM iSIM

MiniSIM Micro SIM Nano SIM eSIM New iSIM25 x 15mm 15 x 12mm 12.3 x 8.8mm Packages Fraction ofmm2

1996 2003 2012

Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC)

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• The SIM card that you see is actually UICC that can run different applications• Example applications shown here are 2G SIM, USIM and IMS SIM

UICC Contents and Security

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• Identity• MSISDN number• Authentication Data• Security Keys• Profiles• Operator Info• …

USIM

UICC UE or ME

3GPP TS 31.101 – picture source Tech-Invite

https://www.tech-invite.com/3m31/tinv-3gpp-31-101.html

eSIM: Embedded SIM (eUICC)

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• An eSIM can come in all modern form factors such as 2FF, 3FF, 4FF, and also MFF2.

Source: 1oT

https://1ot.mobi/resources/blog/differences-between-sim-types-which-sim-to-choose

What are eSIMs?

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• eSIMs are physical SIMs that are soldered into the device and enable storage and remote management of multiple network operator profiles (remote SIM provisioning).

SIM eSIM iSIM

MiniSIM Micro SIM Nano SIM eSIM New iSIM25 x 15mm 15 x 12mm 12.3 x 8.8mm Packages Fraction ofmm2

1996 2003 2012

What are iSIMs?

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• The integrated SIM (iSIM) moves the SIM from a separate chip into a secure enclave alongside the application processor and cellular radio on a purpose-built system on a chip (SoC).

SIM eSIM iSIM

MiniSIM Micro SIM Nano SIM eSIM New iSIM25 x 15mm 15 x 12mm 12.3 x 8.8mm Packages Fraction ofmm2

1996 2003 2012

eUICC Profiles

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Source: NTT Docomo Technical Journal (see References)

eUICC Profile Switching

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Source: NTT Docomo Technical Journal (see References)

References & Further Reading

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• Arm: The Challenges Deploying IoT (link)• Arm Special Edition: eSIM & iSIM for Dummies (link)• Arm Blog: SIM, eSIM, iSIM. What’s the Difference? (link)• River Publishers: USIM in 5G Era (link)• Nordic Semiconductor: The Difference Between SIM, eSIM & iSIM (link)• 1oT: Differences between SIM types - which SIM to choose? (link)• 1oT: The differences between consumer eSIM & M2M eSIM (link)• The 3G4G Blog: UICC and ISIM (IMS SIM) (link)• The 3G4G Blog: M2M embedded UICC (eSIM) Architecture and Use Cases (link)• The 3G4G Blog - Multi-SIM: The Jargon (link)• NTT Docomo: Building of GSMA3.1-compliant eSIM Commercial System for IoT/M2M through

partnership between operators (link)• NTT Docomo: Standardization of Embedded UICC Remote Provisioning (link)• GSMA: eSIM Whitepaper (link)• The Register: SIM swiped from slain stork's GPS tracker used to rack up $2,700 phone bill (link)

https://www.gsma.com/esim/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Secure-Identity-GSMA-eSIM-Deck-Final.pdfhttps://learn.arm.com/rs/714-XIJ-402/images/eSIM-%26-iSIM-Dummies-Guide.pdfhttps://www.arm.com/blogs/blueprint/sim-esim-isim-whats-the-differencehttps://journals.riverpublishers.com/index.php/JICTS/article/view/1261/597https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected/the-difference-between-sim-esim-isimhttps://1ot.mobi/resources/blog/differences-between-sim-types-which-sim-to-choosehttps://1ot.mobi/resources/blog/consumer-m2m-esimhttps://blog.3g4g.co.uk/2012/03/uicc-and-isim-ims-sim.htmlhttps://blog.3g4g.co.uk/2014/12/m2m-embedded-uicc-esim-architecture-and.htmlhttps://blog.3g4g.co.uk/2014/01/multi-sim-jargon.htmlhttps://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/binary/pdf/corporate/technology/rd/technical_journal/bn/vol20_1/vol20_1_005en.pdfhttps://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/binary/pdf/corporate/technology/rd/technical_journal/bn/vol16_2/vol16_2_005en.pdfhttps://www.gsma.com/esim/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/esim-whitepaper.pdfhttps://www.theregister.com/2018/07/03/stork_mobile_theft/

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