With the furor this year about the consumer benefits of the Apple global SIM card arriving in the iPad, the implications for future connected car and Internet of Things (IoT) applications with the card haven’t been so highlighted.
A Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) is a smartcard used to store a subscriber’s number and plan details and identify the carrier associated with the card via the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) details. They’re typically locked to a particular carrier.
The Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) Global SIM in the iPad 2 and iPad Mini 3 is supposed to let users switch between different carriers in the US and the UK through software on the card. In the US, however, that whole process got a bit borked: Verizon Wireless isn’t participating, and AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) locks the card to its network when the service is activated. (See iPad Air 2 Lets Users Switch Carriers Any Time.)