Proof of Concept that addresses needs of advanced IoT devices with increased processing and smaller form factors
Soracom, Inc. in collaboration with Sony Semiconductor Israel Ltd.
and Kigen, has completed Proof of Concept (POC) that demonstrates integrated SIM (iSIM) capability designed to support the next generation of IoT devices.
Conventional cellular applications use a hardware communications module to establish a network connection and a SIM card or eSIM to validate identity. The iSIM technology combines these functions within a single, purpose-built system-on-a-chip (SoC) by simply eliminating the need for a physical SIM (or eSIM).
iSIM technology addresses multiple key challenges at once, streamlining supply chains and allowing significant reductions in the circuit board footprint, circuit complexity, manufacturing cost and power requirements while increasing processing capacity. Additionally, iSIM is highly threat-resistant.
“We believe that iSIM technology will support a new wave of innovation in industry and in everyday life, and we look forward to democratising this capability as we have with eSIM technology and ‘subscription containers’ for over the air (OTA) subscription management,” said Kenta Yasukawa, co-founder and CTO, Soracom.
In this POC, a hardware-secured area was established within Sony’s AltairALT1250 cellular IoT chipset, Then, a Soracom carrier profile was provisioned on the Kigen iSIM OS for developing a solution that delivered full functionality, including the generation of Soracom’s unique key information, secure loading of the carrier profile information on to the module, connection to the cellular network and connection to Soracom’s advanced platform services.
“Our chipsets are the industry’s smallest and most feature-rich solutions, providing the longest battery life in the market for numerous IoT applications. We are excited to see Soracom’s use of iSIM technology on its network, as it enables customers worldwide to provide easily integrated, economical, long-lasting, and secure IoT solutions on a massive scale,” said Dima Feldman, VP Product Management and Marketing at Sony Semiconductor Israel.
Based on this initial success, Soracom, Sony and Kigen will continue joint development to offer iSIM solutions for commercial use.
“We believe innovation for the next shift to billions of IoT devices will need foundational security that is easy to build with and manage at scale, which iSIM technology provides,” said Loic Bonvarlet, VP Product and Marketing at Kigen. “The combination of Kigen’s market-leading secure iSIM OS, provisioning services and market expertise, SONY’s iSIM chipsets and Soracom’s global connectivity will pave the way for power-efficient, compact and secure-by-design IoT solutions.”
