“The SIM card is the most potent instrument of control in the mobile carrier’s hands, controlling the relationship with the customer and giving it unmatched information about how its users behave,” The Register reports.
“The humble SIM has enabled mobile operators to assert control over important areas which were not initially in their kingdom, such as security, Wi-Fi access (via EAP-SIM authentication) and possibly payments (via integrated NFC). No wonder, then, that Apple has consistently sought to seize some of that SIM-based power for itself – and now it has taken an important step in that direction, with the announcement of its own ‘Apple SIM’, which allows iPad users to switch between operators without juggling multiple SIM cards,” The Register reports. “Announced along with the new iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 tablets last week, the soft SIM may seem a matter purely of convenience for consumers, many of which are used to having multiple SIM cards, particularly to get cheaper deals when abroad. But it has a far heavier symbolism in the delicate balance of power between Apple and the operators, since the vendor is actively enabling and encouraging its customers to be carrier-neutral, switching between short term plans whenever they see a better offer.”
“The logical next step, if Apple is brave enough, would be to embed the Apple SIM in all iPads and even iPhones, cutting out the operators’ beloved SIM card and all the business models that drives,” The Register reports. “Given past history, we would not expect this move to happen in the short term – perhaps not until embedded SIMs are becoming the norm anyway, driven by the very different needs of the internet of things (IoT).”
Read more in the full article here.
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Apple SIM card in new iPads challenges mobile networks – October 17, 2014