During Embedded World 2025, it was confirmed that the introduction of SGP.32 marks a significant leap forward in IoT connectivity, offering a more flexible and scalable approach to eSIM remote provisioning. Unlike SGP.02, which has been widely adopted for M2M (Machine-to-Machine) deployments, SGP.32 is designed to simplify eSIM activation and profile switching by eliminating the need for complex integrations and allowing IoT devices to seamlessly switch networks. This enhances global scalability, security, and remote management, making it ideal for massive IoT deployments across industries like automotive, smart cities, and industrial automation among many others. Despite these advancements, SGP.02 remains well accepted, particularly in legacy IoT applications where stability and existing infrastructure support are critical. However, as eSIM adoption grows and the need for over-the-air provisioning accelerates, SGP.32 is set to become the new standard, ensuring more efficient cross-border IoT deployments and unlocking new business models in the connected ecosystem.

While eSIM (Embedded SIM) has already achieved widespread acceptance among OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and MNOs (Mobile Network Operators), the IoT industry is now shifting towards iSIM (Integrated SIM) as the next evolutionary step in connectivity. eSIM adoption has streamlined device provisioning and remote profile management, making it a standard choice for smartphones, wearables, and industrial IoT applications. However, iSIM takes integration a step further by embedding the SIM functionality directly into the device’s main chipset, eliminating the need for a dedicated chip. This shift offers significant advantages for IoT, including lower power consumption, enhanced security, reduced device footprint, and cost savings—all critical factors for massive IoT deployments such as smart meters, asset trackers, and industrial sensors. As a result, iSIM is set to complement eSIM rather than replace it, offering a more integrated, scalable, and efficient solution for next-generation IoT connectivity.

As IoT deployments scale globally, Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) are emerging as a crucial complement to terrestrial cellular technologies like 5G, 5G RedCap, LTE-M, and NB-IoT. NTN is powered by satellite connectivity, extending the network availability to remote, rural, and maritime regions, where traditional networks face coverage limitations. Its seamless integration enhances global IoT deployments across industries such as logistics, agriculture, and emergency response, ensuring uninterrupted connectivity for mission-critical applications. With the evolution of eSIM and iSIM, IoT devices can now dynamically switch between terrestrial and NTN networks, optimizing connectivity based on location and availability. Additionally, MNOs are increasingly collaborating with NTN providers to offer hybrid connectivity solutions, ensuring that IoT devices can automatically transition between cellular and satellite links without manual intervention. This interoperability unlocks new business models, enabling global asset tracking, resilient infrastructure monitoring, and real-time data transmission in previously unreachable areas and achieving true global coverage, enhanced reliability, and a unified connectivity experience, making seamless, always-on communication a reality.

In Nuremberg, several OEMs and module makers highlighted the fact that the Single SKU challenge is one of the biggest hurdles in global IoT deployments, as they strive to create a single hardware variant that can seamlessly connect to mobile networks worldwide without human intervention. Traditionally, device makers have had to pre-load region-specific SIM profiles or rely on manual provisioning, leading to logistical complexity, increased costs, and inefficiencies in global supply chains. To address this, SGP.41 and SGP.42 define how IFPP (in-factory profile provisioning) and the FPA (Factory Profile Assistant) as the most relevant feature included in the new GSMA standards will help to overcome the existing challenges. While SGP.41/42 are officially released, Bootstrap Connectivity and the usage of a local IPA used as an IFPP client will be crucial for a smooth transition. Bootstrap Connectivity ensures that devices can instantly connect to a network upon activation, allowing for remote profile downloads and provisioning. LPA/IPA facilitates dynamic SIM profile selection during production. By integrating one or more of these features, the industry is paving the way for a true “deploy once, connect anywhere” model, making the single SKU vision a reality.

Embedded World 2025 corroborated how the industry in general and connectivity solutions in particular are being adapted to ensure everything is connected everywhere and always in a seamless way reducing the logistics and operational costs when manufacturing connected devices.
At Valid, we are committed to delivering friendly and interoperable connectivity solutions to our customers through our comprehensive portfolio of products, with a strong focus on IoT, including:

• eSIM and iSIM
• IPAd & IPAe
• Remote SIM provisioning platforms
• eIM (eSIM IoT Remote Manager)
• Bootstrap connectivity

Are you ready to shape the future of connectivity with us? Let’s build it together.