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A SIM card is a central component of a mobile telephony (GSM, GPRS, UMTS, LTE) based IoT/M2M application and an important link in a chain that includes a stable network infrastructure and all background processes as well as quality management.

Besides standard SIM cards, such as for mobile phones, mobile network providers (MNOs) also offer special M2M SIM cards and M2M SIM chips. These special M2M SIM’s are characterized by special M2M tariffs on the one hand and on the other hand they meet industry requirements regarding corrosion resistance, longer life and high temperature fluctuations.

A long lifetime (>>10 years) and safe operation are of great importance for M2M applications, since replacement (mostly) at remote locations leads to high costs. Such SIM cards are also often used in harsh environments and are subject to higher stress (temperature, humidity, vibration).

The usual “plug-in” M2M SIM cards (UICC 2FF) are made of more robust plastic and use special microcontrollers.

Alternatively M2M SIM chips (MFF, MFR) can be used (if the hardware used supports this). SIM chips meet the requirements of industrial use and are permanently soldered into the M2M device.

Another advantage of M2M SIM chips is that they are secure against theft and manipulation. However, the use of M2M SIM chips only makes sense for larger quantities, as the organizational effort is higher.

Further information:

  • Telekom
  • Vodafone
  • Telefonica
  • emnify

Our products support the use of M2M SIM chips. However, the use of SIM chips must be planned during production and delivery.

Further information

Do you have questions about M2M SIM cards? Talk to us, we will be happy to advise you.