№1, 2020

eSIM TECHNOLOGY: STATE-OF-THE-ART, ARCHITECTURAL PRINCIPLES AND SECURITY ISSUES

Kamran E. Jafarzade

The article reviews the architecture of the eSIM technology, the main types of communication profiles and their role in subscription manager SM-DP and SM-SR. It also offers an analysis of the profile switching algorithm used in eSIM technology. At present, the traditional SIM has enough vulnerabilities in terms of reliability and safety of use. The lack of remote control and the low level of security when storing operator credentials give reason to think about solving these problems using the new technology for virtualizing SIM cards. As a result of the study, it is also found that there are further prospects for introducing eSIM technology into the mobile device market and fully replacing its predecessor (pp.123-128).

Keywords: eSIM, embedded SIM, eUICC, subscription manager, profile, MNO, SM-DP, SM-SR, QR code.
DOI : 10.25045/jpit.v11.i1.14
References
  • Peppard J., Rylander A. From Value Chain to Value Network: Insights for Mobile Operators. // European Management Journal, 2006, vol.24, pp.128–141.
  • Борьба за SIM. Что не так с SIM-картами. https://vc.ru/tech/26660-borba-za-sim/
  • SIM-карта. eSIM. https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIM-карта/
  • Gerpott T., May S. Embedded Subscriber Identity Module eSIM. // Business and Information Systems Engineering, 2017, vol.59, no.4, pp.293–296.
  • Alendal M. Operators need an ecosystem to support 50 billion connections. // Ericsson Business Review, 2010, no.3, pp.42.
  • Suzuki K., Azuma T. Standardization of Embedded UICC Remote Provisioning. // NTT DOCOMO Technical Journal, 2014, vol.16, no.2.
  • Vesselkov A., Hämmäinen H., Ikäläinen P. Value networks of embedded SIM-based remote subscription management. / IEEE Conference of Telecommunication, Media and Internet Techno-Economics (CTTE), 2015.
  • Shahnaz M. Embedded SIM Remote Provision Architecture. // Value Network Analysis of Embedded Subscriber Identity Module in  Machine to Machine Communication, 2014, pp.26–29.
  • Park J., Baek K., Kang C. Secure Profile Provisioning Architecture for Embedded UICC. / International Conference on Availability, Reliability and Security, 2013, pp.297–303.
  • What is an eSIM, and why should you care. eSIM advantages. https://www.broadbandgenie.co.uk/features/what-an-esim/
  • SIM Card Shipments to Reach 5.6 Billion Units by 2020, IHS Says. https://news.ihsmarkit.com/press-release/technology/sim-card-shipments-reach-56-billion-units-2020-ihs-says/
  • eSIM Market Projected to Increase Nearly Nine-Fold, to Almost One Billion Shipments. https://technology.ihs.com/591806/esim-market-projected-to-increase-nearly-nine-fold-to-almost-one-billion-shipments/
  • eSIM Whitepaper. The what and how of Remote SIM Provisioning, march 2018. GSMA.
  • How safe is the eSIM. https://www.truphone.com/about/newsroom/how-safe-is-the-esim