GSMA’s new eSIM IoT specifications (SGP.32) will democratise eSIM connectivity in a way that the old M2M standard could not. It eliminates the extensive, expensive and complex integration required by the M2M eSIM architecture, making eSIM functional even for constrained devices and an option for a broader range of industries and applications.
As such, the IoT for enterprise market is expected to grow massively over the next few years. Juniper Research predicts there will be 195 million eSIM IoT connections by 2026, nearly nine times the 22 million eSIM IoT connections in 2023. Telcos can take advantage by providing eSIM orchestration services for MVNOs, MVNEs, MVNAs, and enterprises, particularly those developing a centralised IoT dataset for machine learning.
Telcos can become a full-service enterprise IoT platform for telecommunications or provide connectivity to third-party IoT solutions providers (e.g., industrial IoT automation, machine learning IoT applications).
Telcos must scale their eSIM services to meet the burgeoning demands of the enterprise IoT market, but doing this is not without its challenges. These can be classified into the following categories:
1. Profile-type management (over lifecycle)
To quickly roll out consumer eSIM services, some telcos opted for eSIM management systems incapable of catering for multiple profile types to manage the multitude of growing requirements of different sales channels and devices for eSIM. In addition, these systems were not intended for mass-scale deployment, commonly including offline manual processes for orchestration and management and primitive interfaces. Their limited orchestration and management capabilities mean telcos and channel partners cannot easily bulk-manage profiles over their lifecycle. Since they cannot quickly develop new profile types on demand, they cannot provide clients with a seamless enterprise IoT network management experience.
Solution: An eSIM management system with the following features:
- Automated profile development
- Individual and bulk profile-type management capabilities
- An intuitive user interface
2. Order management
The accelerated eSIM adoption rate in the enterprise IoT space means more eSIM-equipped IoT devices and device types and an even greater variation in profile types. Telcos manual order processing systems must spend time and resources matching input files with profile types and fulfilling orders.
Additionally, telcos on primitive eSIM systems with limited control options can be prone to stock-outs. They cannot readily respond to seasonal demands or efficiently allocate their profile inventory across a growing number of eSIM sales channels.
Solution: An eSIM management system with the following features:
- Online order management with automated profile matching to speed up order fulfilment and minimise profile matching errors
- Ability to delegate ordering to MVNOs, MVNXs and enterprises to minimise order fulfilment administration costs for telcos
- Real-time inventory tracking with automated top-up alerts and inventory allocation recommendations based on burn rates to minimise stock-outs
3. Sales channel management
The telcos’ ability to capitalise on the accelerated growth of IoT connections depends on how fast it can customise its services to the requirements of IoT connectivity solutions providers. However, traditional eSIM management platforms are walled gardens, restricting systems to defined parameters (e.g., type of subscriber, channel, site, vendor, and partner).
Thus, many telcos run their eSIM services on non-interoperable systems, managing individual channels on separate interfaces. This increases administration costs and service latency and undermines the telcos’ ability to scale quickly and efficiently exploit enterprise IoT growth opportunities.
Telcos must be able to easily service multiple sales channels, preferably on a unified interface. This can be challenging, as different channels may require distinct profile types and inventory levels and have differing order cycles.
Solution: An eSIM ecosystem with the following features:
- Multi-tenant; allows telcos to manage multiple channels, vendors, sites, and partners from a single interface to simplify channel management
- Allows telcos to delegate management to individual channels/clients to minimise administration costs, streamline profile management and development and facilitate efficient client onboarding
The Impact of IoT in the telecom industry
Telcos can expect IoT connections to surge in the next few years. However, they can only realise gains from IoT for enterprise growth if they can overcome the challenges posed by profile-type management, order management and sales channel management.
Workz provides a complete, end-to-end turnkey eSIM management and orchestration solution that telcos can readily use to grow their enterprise IoT business. Our cloud eSIM platform and Multi-tenant eSIM Hub (MeSH) provides a unified approach for ease of channel management and onboarding. It also has the features telcos need to effectively scale their eSIM operations, including automated profile creation, online order management, automated input file-profile matching, real-time inventory tracking, intelligent profile delivery, and an IoT remote provisioning platform capable of push-and-pull device control.
Learn about more ways to address the challenges from Workz technical consultants by contacting us today.
GSMA’s new eSIM IoT specifications (SGP.32) will democratise eSIM connectivity in a way that the old M2M standard could not. It eliminates the extensive, expensive and complex integration required by the M2M eSIM architecture, making eSIM functional even for constrained devices and an option for a broader range of industries and applications.
As such, the IoT for enterprise market is expected to grow massively over the next few years. Juniper Research predicts there will be 195 million eSIM IoT connections by 2026, nearly nine times the 22 million eSIM IoT connections in 2023.
Telcos can take advantage by providing eSIM orchestration services for MVNOs, MVNEs, MVNAs, and enterprises, particularly those developing a centralised IoT dataset for machine learning. Telcos can become a full-service enterprise IoT platform for telecommunications or provide connectivity to third-party IoT solutions providers (e.g., industrial IoT automation, machine learning IoT applications).
Telcos must scale their eSIM services to meet the burgeoning demands of the enterprise IoT market, but doing this is not without its challenges. These can be classified into the following categories:
1. Profile-type management (over lifecycle)
To quickly roll out consumer eSIM services, some telcos opted for eSIM management systems incapable of catering for multiple profile types to manage the multitude of growing requirements of different sales channels and devices for eSIM. In addition, these systems were not intended for mass-scale deployment, commonly including offline manual processes for orchestration and management and primitive interfaces. Their limited orchestration and management capabilities mean telcos and channel partners cannot easily bulk-manage profiles over their lifecycle. Since they cannot quickly develop new profile types on demand, they cannot provide clients with a seamless enterprise IoT network management experience.
Solution: An eSIM management system with the following features:
- Automated profile development
- Individual and bulk profile-type management capabilities
- An intuitive user interface
2. Order management
The accelerated eSIM adoption rate in the enterprise IoT space means more eSIM-equipped IoT devices and device types and an even greater variation in profile types. Telcos manual order processing systems must spend time and resources matching input files with profile types and fulfilling orders.
Additionally, telcos on primitive eSIM systems with limited control options can be prone to stock-outs. They cannot readily respond to seasonal demands or efficiently allocate their profile inventory across a growing number of eSIM sales channels.
Solution: An eSIM management system with the following features:
- Online order management with automated profile matching to speed up order fulfilment and minimise profile matching errors
- Ability to delegate ordering to MVNOs, MVNXs and enterprises to minimise order fulfilment administration costs for telcos
- Real-time inventory tracking with automated top-up alerts and inventory allocation recommendations based on burn rates to minimise stock-outs
3. Sales channel management
The telcos’ ability to capitalise on the accelerated growth of IoT connections depends on how fast it can customise its services to the requirements of IoT connectivity solutions providers. However, traditional eSIM management platforms are walled gardens, restricting systems to defined parameters (e.g., type of subscriber, channel, site, vendor, and partner).
Thus, many telcos run their eSIM services on non-interoperable systems, managing individual channels on separate interfaces. This increases administration costs and service latency and undermines the telcos’ ability to scale quickly and efficiently exploit enterprise IoT growth opportunities.
Telcos must be able to easily service multiple sales channels, preferably on a unified interface. This can be challenging, as different channels may require distinct profile types and inventory levels and have differing order cycles.
Solution: An eSIM ecosystem with the following features:
- Multi-tenant; allows telcos to manage multiple channels, vendors, sites, and partners from a single interface to simplify channel management
- Allows telcos to delegate management to individual channels/clients to minimise administration costs, streamline profile management and development and facilitate efficient client onboarding
The Impact of IoT in the telecom industry
Telcos can expect IoT connections to surge in the next few years. However, they can only realise gains from IoT for enterprise growth if they can overcome the challenges posed by profile-type management, order management and sales channel management.
Workz provides a complete, end-to-end turnkey eSIM management and orchestration solution that telcos can readily use to grow their enterprise IoT business. Our cloud eSIM platform and Multi-tenant eSIM Hub (MeSH) provides a unified approach for ease of channel management and onboarding. It also has the features telcos need to effectively scale their eSIM operations, including automated profile creation, online order management, automated input file-profile matching, real-time inventory tracking, intelligent profile delivery, and an IoT remote provisioning platform capable of push-and-pull device control.
Learn about more ways to address the challenges from Workz technical consultants by contacting us today.
The number of eSIM connections is expected to keep pace with the exponential rise in cellular-connected devices. GSMA Intelligence reports there will be a billion eSIM smartphone connections by 2025, and more than 50% of smartphone connections will use eSIM by 2028.
The rise of eSIM use is not confined to the smartphone market. A report by Juniper Research claims that eSIM IoT connection growth will outpace eSIM smartphone gains by 2026, driven by an increasing adoption of eSIM orchestration or IoT device management platforms.
To take advantage, MNOs and MVNXs must consider discovery service-based eSIM activation.
Discovery services simplify eSIM adoption and activation for subscribers without complicating the eSIM activation backend for MNOs.
Unlike QR code-based activation, discovery service-based activation does not require a device to have a camera. And unlike digital activation through operator-branded devices, discovery service-based activation doesn’t require OEMs to pre-provision devices with subscription management data preparation (SM-DP+) addresses.
At the moment, MNOs can use the following discovery service options to enable digital eSIM activation for subscribers:
- GSMA Discovery Service (GSMA DS)
- Apple Lookup Service (ALS)
- Samsung Discovery Service (Samsung DS)
- Custom Discovery Service via eKYC
GSMA eSIM Discovery Service
The GSMA eSIM discovery service is a cloud-based digital activation solution that will eventually be rolled out globally and become a universal directory of all networks. GSMA DS is part of the GSMA remote provisioning specifications for the consumer market.
It is a subscription management root-discovery service (SM-DS). Using the device eUICC identifier (EID), it matches the eSIM to a purchased network operator profile. Once that’s done, it generates and remotely provisions the device with the relevant network operator’s SM-DP+.
Subscription discovery, profile preparation and profile delivery all take place in the background in a swift and streamlined process. For the end user, it is an exceptionally convenient, one-click digital eSIM activation. For MNOs, it is a simple way to provision subscribers.
That said, it can be costly to implement and expensive to maintain. MNOs pay an annual fee to use the GSMA eSIM discovery service. The service also charges a development fee for discovery service customisation.
Apple Lookup Service
The Apple Lookup Service (ALS) is a discovery solution pioneered by Apple to enhance out-of-the-box functionality for Apple eSIM devices. The server automatically triggers the installation of the available operators’ SM-DP+ via a push message.
ALS is a highly developed and mature discovery solution, providing subscribers with a straightforward eSIM activation process. It is also inexpensive for MNOs as operators can use the service for free.
Unfortunately, ALS may be used only with eSIM iOS devices.
Samsung Discovery Service
The Samsung discovery service is like the Apple Lookup Service. This OEM discovery service triggers the installation and activation of eSIM via push messaging.
MNOs may also use Samsung DS free of charge, but it works only with Samsung eSIM devices.
Custom discovery service via eKYC
Instead of using GSMA DS, ALS or Samsung DS, MNOs can implement custom discovery through their eKYC deployment.
eKYC is an identification verification mechanism that MNOs implement to comply with data protection regulations like Anti-Money Laundering/Anti-Terrorist Financing (AML-ATF) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It exists to minimise subscription and identity fraud.
Workz can build a custom discovery service for network operators, which they can integrate with their eKYC mobile app. It enables the app to handle not only identity verification functions but also SM-DP+ provision.
eKYC subscriber onboarding for telcos offers subscribers a fully digital and seamless eSIM activation experience like the other discovery services. However, it gives MNOs full control because a custom discovery service integrated with eKYC limits eSIM connection options to their network.
Full control and one-click digital activation
As eSIM devices become more diverse and eSIM connections increase, MNOs must work hard to attract and retain subscribers. Providing effortless, frictionless digital eSIM activation is one of the ways they can do this.
Discovery service-based eSIM activation accomplishes this without requiring complicated integrations with OEMs. To this end, MNOs can use GSMA, Apple and Samsung discovery services. A better solution, however, is a custom discovery service integrated with eKYC subscriber onboarding.
Workz provides cloud entitlement, eSIM orchestration and eKYC solutions to MNOs.
We can develop and integrate a custom discovery service with your eKYC app to provide subscribers with a seamless digital activation experience while letting you retain full control over the activation process.
Contact us to learn more about our subscriber management and SIM solutions.
