With the first eSIM-enabled wearables coming to the North American market, there is both an opportunity and a challenge for the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to manage. The MNOs have an opportunity to offer additional connections to their existing consumer base with the freedom eSIM technologies offer. While adding more devices to the family share plan benefits the market, activating these devices requires technology investments.
G&D anticipates several eSIM-enabled consumer devices launching in the North American market in 2017 – starting with companion devices such as smart watches. While the market in Asia has already launched mobile devices with eSIM technology, the expectation is to see eSIM-enabled devices in North America by 2018 in a larger scale. By 2020, a hundred million smart phones are projected to be eSIM-enabled, and the GSMA predicts over 10 billion mobile connected devices by the end of the same year. This rapid growth will be seen across a variety of industries, including consumer devices (wearables, tablets, smart phones), connected cars, Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine-to-Machine (M2M).
Mobile Carriers worldwide will benefit from the Otono and G&D partnership, which pairs the G&D AirOn Platform with the Otono Platform to create a seamless user journey: eSIM activation to launch eSIM-enabled products quickly and easily. This will allow Operators to offer electronic vouchers such that their customers can remotely add companion devices without the need to visit a Point of Sale location to scan a physical voucher.
The Otono Platform is a robust and flexible global connectivity solution, focused on the enablement of wireless services for any device. The platform is both carrier- and device-agnostic, designed to meet the connectivity requirements of any MNO and integrate with any platform or technology standard. Otono handles the carrier integration, eSIM provisioning and management.
“We can help MNOs launch an eSIM-enabled product in under four months at a fraction of the cost.” says Emir Aboulhosn, CEO and Founder of Otono. “The Otono Platform was architected with flexibility and scalability in mind, and together with G&D, we can help mobile carriers be fast to market with any eSIM product.”
G&D launched the first commercial eSIM management solution and continues to onboard leading mobile network operators, and G&D’s AirOn supports the Remote SIM Provisioning specification for consumer devices and M2M set by the GSMA. AirOn is a comprehensive system that efficiently and securely activates, manages, and updates SIMs and devices Over-the-Air (OTA). When users of a mobile-enabled device request eSIM activation, AirOn securely transfers an operator profile through the connected network. G&D’s extensive experience in OTA systems and mobile security solutions ensures that communication and device identification will be secure.