Apple’s push for embedded or programmable SIM cards appears stalled by threatened carriers, but the GSMA is moving forward to research the use these chips. They may not appear in phones for some time, but there are other opportunities in web-connected machines and smartgrid devices.
As consumers adopt smartphones and mobile broadband becomes more ubiquitous, smarter homes will become more common, with brains enabled by machine-to-machine network technologies, mobile applications for monitoring and control, and Internet connectivity to keep homeowners in the loop. I’ve been experimenting with just such a system.
It wasn’t too long ago that the path to success for mobile carriers was a straight one: Simply offer compelling handsets at competitive prices and maintain a top-notch network and your customers would be happy. But as we near market saturation, that model is rapidly changing.
