Each day new connected devices reach the markets everywhere. Analysts around the world expect even greater increases in volumes of devices for the coming years, with IoT Analytics projecting that by 2025 there will be approximately 27 billion connected IoT devices worldwide.

The GSMA projects that from 2021 to 2025 the IoT connections will increase 54%, from 15.1 billion connections to 23.3 billion. This means that the industry will have to develop new requirements to deal with that huge demand.

Those projections together with the challenges we already mentioned in terms of shape, size and function during the production of new devices, including power consumption could only be addressed by a new secure element form factor, such as the integrated SIM (iSIM).

Due to the complexity of device manufacturing nowadays, which need to solve the issue of multiple chipsets incorporated to incorporate new features and bring high-tech benefits to end-users, the industry needed to find a solution to keep on helping OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) to push for smaller and thinner devices, with simpler bill of materials*.

A bill of materials (BOM) is a centralized source of information to assess the cost of a whole device assembled and ready to be shipped but before being manufactured.
The solution to deliver high-end connected devices in a large scale was to work on a single chip that embedded all the functionalities of other chipsets.

The iSIM not only helps the industry with the miniaturization challenge but also to reduces power consumption and the production cost, as well as offers better thermal dissipation control.

The iSIM presents the same level of security as the eSIM, if it follows the GSMA certification.

For end-users, similar to the eSIM, they can add an MNO subscription for roaming remotely, manage several subscriptions in one device, therefore simplifying the user experience.

For MNOs and MVNOs, it gives them the possibility to launch their services without the need to distribute SIM cards, avoiding SIM stock management, offering full digital experience to their consumers.

For OEMs, iSIM technology offers key advantages such as miniaturization, which saves device space and consolidates connectivity functions; lower power consumption, enhancing energy efficiency, memory capacity, and heat dissipation; and simplified logistics, streamlining manufacturing and certification by reducing SKUs, inventory references, and stored device volumes through family grouping.