The world of connectivity is rapidly evolving, with eSIM technology at the forefront. As digital SIM cards and mobile networks move to a fully digital model, barriers that once hindered the global mobile industry are quickly disappearing. But how does it all work, and what does the future hold for this groundbreaking innovation?
In an exclusive interview, Gregory Gundelfinger, a leader in the eSIM space, discusses how his company, Telna, is overcoming compatibility challenges to make seamless global connectivity a reality. From unlocking new opportunities in the IoT market to providing global mobile access with just a few taps on a phone, the potential for growth is massive.
Gundelfinger also highlights the GSMA’s newly adopted eSIM standard, which is set to revolutionize both consumer and IoT applications worldwide. With cloud networking and 5G on the horizon, this could be the breakthrough the industry has been waiting for.
Don’t miss this in-depth conversation. Tune in to learn how eSIM will transform connectivity and change the way we live and work.
Steve Saunders:
So eSim is a service that's a exciting and potentially huge new market. How's that going for you?
Gregory Gundelfinger:
Very well. We've been waiting for the digitalization of the SIM card and the mobile network ever since we started this. So up until now we've really had huge barriers to entry. Now with eSim, it's totally digital. With digital distribution becomes massive scale.
Steve Saunders:
But I guess there's still some compatibility challenges there aren't there with different operator services and things like that. But you've tackled that problem, haven't you?
Gregory Gundelfinger:
Over the years what we've done is we've built a global mobile network core and we've integrated with every single mobile network operator in the world, and then what we do is we expose this single platform to our customers for them to be able to have a single eSim that can be controlled through one platform. So it's a single API that can rate tariffs, troubleshoot every single network in the world.
Steve Saunders:
As a tourist, I'm familiar with the travel eSim, but the IoT market, that sounds like it's a growing market. I mean, what's the status of it now?
Gregory Gundelfinger:
We've worked customers that are targeting consumer eSim in the travel vertical and IoT eSim for global connectivity, multi-network connectivity, and we see that from a mobile network perspective, they have always looked for solutions to be able to penetrate both of these markets. I think that the thing that's got the whole industry excited is that mobile network operators have always looked for creative revenue and ways to unlock what the industry has always termed as silent roadways. They would ordinarily arrive at their destination and buy a local SIM card and have to open up their devices and put in a new SIM card, or they would rely just solely on Wi-Fi. Now they just have an app that they have on their phone and within a couple of minutes they can just download an eSim.
Steve Saunders:
You mentioned there hasn't been the same level of standardization with IoT. What needs to happen there in order for IoT to really take off as far as this technology goes?
Gregory Gundelfinger:
We are seeing some huge changes in the IoT. There's a lot of standardization that is fighting to be adopted. The GSMA recently adopted a new eSim standard called SDG-32. This is going to effectively combine both the IoT eSIM standard and the consumer eSIM standard into one standard.
Steve Saunders:
What's an example of how that GSMA new standard, how does that make IoT applications operate more efficiently or more usefully on a global level?
Gregory Gundelfinger:
We're going to be at MWC speaking to our travel eSIM MVNOs, speaking to MNOs that are looking to launch travel eSIM solutions, talking to IoT MVNOs about how they can take advantage of the eSIM opportunity, get to market faster to capture this revenue. Up until now, you've had physical infrastructure to be able to support the core network, specific hardware to be able to support the subscriber base. Where we are going and what eSIM represents and actually what 5G represents is the cloud networking digitization that's taking place. So at a really exciting time for the industry.