So far, all subscribers are rigidly tied to their mobile operator ID in the form of a telephone number in the world of technology, changes are taking place that in a few years will turn the operators' service models upside down. Let's take a look at the backstage of consumption and look into the premises of these changes and the trends emerging in telecom.
Technology
Here are just one observation. Pioneer devices with eSIM appeared (embedded SIM in the form of a 2 * 2 mm chip). This chip supports new standards. ARM has built eSIM into its mobile processors - we are waiting for a line of IoT or wearable devices with them. Google in Pixel 2, offers the user to connect to his Project Project through the built-in eSIM, and the Google's eSIM Manager application can already manage the operator profile in the application without a familiar SIM card.
Those. With the progress of eSIM, operator profiles (phone numbers) will obviously become available to the subscriber without the required physical form factor (the usual SIM card).
Technological transformations that will occur with the penetration of eSIM:
- Minimizing devices and new IoT applications.
- Support industry standard MFF2.
- Transition to the always best connected paradigm or to the UBER model of the consumption of mobile services.
If you look further, the
GSM Association itself
is actively involved in the transformation of mobile technologies and consumption patterns of operator services. In 2015, the Remote SIM provisioning standard was adopted, which essentially lit the green light of the subscriber’s freedom to connect and described switching technology. Its essence is that, at the request of the user, a profile of a new operator can be loaded “over the air” at any time.
Business transformation
It is interesting to make predictions on the changes that are coming and how they will affect the life of the user of services, companies and mobile operators. Obviously, the client with an ID that is not tied to any operator will finally become King of the Hill. Not just mobile communication services will be built around it, but converged services built in open OEM ecosystems, which are still heavily closed cellular operators and service provider companies. In simple terms, with one click you can buy a communication service and get a bonus from the hotel booking service, bank, laundry or vice versa. But it is not exactly.
Cellular operators, on the one hand, will receive new channels for distributing traffic through mobile market placements of subscription providers, on the other hand, the competition will greatly increase due to the possibility of a seamless operator change with one click.
Companies will be able to integrate their services in one window with communication services. For the time being, only operators and a good example of such integration can be afforded by the synergy of MTS and MTS Bank.
Home for dessert
In Russia, there are no ecosystems in which it is possible to create something similar to Google projects, but despite this, attempts are being made to play UBER models now. Just today, a story about “operator of operators” from Easy4 started. Last year, Sim2m began selling a SIM card with B4 aggregation services. ComfortWay c 2016 sells a roaming tourist product that connects in different countries to local operators in 200 countries of the world. Overall, not bad.