Apple and Samsung Reportedly Planning to Ditch SIM Cards

Apple, Samsung and a number of other leading telecom companies are poised to revolutionize mobile networking with a brand new E-SIM card. The embedded SIM is a more versatile system which allows you to instantly switch between different mobile operators. Traditionally, SIM cards transferred data from a particular carrier and you had to swap between physical cards to access different networks. While the E-SIM isn’t removable, there’s no need for this technology considering it’s extremely easy to assign a new network. However, I’m not sure if this will apply to acquiring a new number from an existing network by changing from one tariff to another.

According to the Financial Times, AT&T, Deutsche Telekom, Etisalat, Hutchison Whampoa, Orange, Telefónica and Vodafone are all expected to support this move and if more parties follow, then the death of the traditional SIM might be closer than first expected. Personally, I foresee E-SIMs as a supplementary device and not something to replace traditional cards in the short-term. The amount of customers using older handsets with basic SIMs, Nano SIMs and Micro SIMs means the roll-out could take some time. Although, that doesn’t stop brand new devices from utilizing this superior form of technology.

Another possible problem revolves around phone upgrades. If your number is assigned to a handset, what happens if you want to sell your device on eBay and buy a better model? What if the phone becomes defective? Perhaps, networks will assign each number to an IMEI and disable it when transferring to a new handset.

Thank you The Next Web for providing us with this information.