Reasons why Soracom pushes ISIM Communication modules and SIM functions into one -chip | Business network.jp
notebook-laptopSIM (Subscriber Identity Module) is essential for smartphones and other mobile devices. Recently, there has been a shift from card-type to embedded SIM (eSIM), and the practical application of iSIM, which is an evolution of eSIM, is also in sight. iSIM, an abbreviation for integrated SIM, is a specification standardized by the GSMA, and is a technical standard that integrates communication module and SIM functions into a single cellular SoC (System on a Chip). SIM/eSIM has a dedicated physical interface (ISO7816) mounted on a secure IC, which is an independent module, and is equipped with a SIM OS and other components. (Characteristics that make internal structure analysis and unauthorized reading/falsification of data difficult). On the other hand, iSIM is equivalent to conventional SIM/eSIM by installing SIM OS in a secure physical area (TRE: Tamper Resistant Element) with tamper resistance performance in cellular SoC without using an independent module. security level can be guaranteed (Figure 1).
Chart 1 What is iSIM (integrated SIM)?
In 2018, this iSIM suddenly became known when British Arm developed and proposed it as one of the SIM solutions for IoT. Vodafone in the UK and Bayer in Germany have announced that iSIM will be used in medical IoT, and major carriers such as AT&T in the US and Sprint in the US are considering adopting iSIM and have expressed their technical support.
Soracom is actively working on iSIM in Japan. In the keynote speech at the annual event "SORACOM Discovery 2021 ONLINE" held in June this year, President Ken Tamagawa said that he had conducted an iSIM demonstration experiment with Sony Semiconductor Israel (hereafter, Sony) and Kigen under Arm. In the demonstration experiment, a hardware-based secure area was secured in the evaluation board of Sony's cellular IoT chipset "Altair ALT1250", and Soracom's carrier profile was written on Kigen's OS for iSIM. It has confirmed the same operability as SIM/eSIM and a secure connection to the SORACOM platform.
