“Apple plans to embed its own Sim cards in the latest line of iPads will move the company nearer to a long-held ambition to kill off the hard square of plastic that has tied mobile users to their network operators,” Daniel Thomas reports for The Financial Times.
“The US technology group has been trying to get rid of the traditional Sim for several years, according to analysts who follow the company, although it has backed off in the past in the face of opposition from mobile operators loath to give up the control they have over the customer through the card,” Thomas reports. “The re-programmable data-only Sim will mean that an iPad user will no longer have to sign up to a lengthy contract with a mobile operator, but could pick and choose which network to use depending on location.”
“For example, EE could be used in the UK and AT&T in the US, which would avoid roaming charges. This could make it easier for customers to switch network to find a cheaper price or better reception,” Thomas reports. “Ben Wood, analyst at CCS Insight, said that it was still too early to cause too big a worry for mobile operators given Apple’s plans were for data-only Sims rather than voice. He said that Apple might have greater difficulties in bringing in such Sims to its phones, however, given ‘a completely different challenge on a voice and data Sim – the complexity of managing phone numbers is significant.'”
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