Industry 4.0 has been well and truly explosive for the last decade, and its growth doesn’t seem to be stopping. The Global System for Mobile Communication Association (GSMA) predicts that, by 2025, there will be more than 25 billion Internet of Things (IoT) connections globally. While IoT has transformed industry, there are still challenges when it comes to streamlining deployment. Here, Amr Houssein, managing director of eSIM pioneer Mobilise, explains how eSIMs complete IoT connectivity.
In short, the industrial IoT (IIoT) enables machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, making manufacturing facilities smart and digitalised. By using sensors to capture factory floor data, manufacturers gain a comprehensive overview of their facility to optimise processes, improve machine performance, reduce waste and energy consumption, and result in less unexpected downtime. But what is the technology behind getting connected? While IoT SIM cards do the job, these challenges are hard to ignore when there’s a solution on hand. eSIMs, or embedded SIMs, are a digital alternative to physical SIMs, connecting devices to a network over the air. Initially adopted for wearable devices and connected cars, eSIMs are also now a key component of the IIoT.
Unlike physical SIM cards, eSIMs download network credentials onto a chip on the printed circuit board of an IoT device through over-the-air provisioning. Eliminating the physical component of a SIM makes the entire network onboarding process remote, which has a wealth of benefits for manufacturers.
eSIMs eliminate the problems associated with IoT SIM cards—the device’s network is determined after the production, shipment and deployment of an IoT device. Manufacturers can easily swap connectivity providers as and when required for ultimate flexibility depending on device location or subscription cost.
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