Presentation on the need to liberalize IMSI numbers for M2M SIM-cards

1. OECD work on
Internet of Things
The liberalisation of the SIM-card

2. Disclaimer
The views expressed here are my own and
may not reflect those of the OECD or its
member countries.

3. OECD work on IoT
• ICT Applications for the Smart Grid. Opportunities and Policy
Implications
• Smart Sensor Networks: Technologies and Applications for Green
Growth
• International Energy Agency: Technology Roadmap: Smart Grids
• OECD-NSF Workshop: Building a Smarter Health and Wellness
Future
• Renewable energy and smart grids: new challenges for competition
policy
• Smart Electricity Grids
• Policies to support smart water systems. Lessons from countries
experience
• And more (to come)

4. M2M, Connecting billions of devices
• Study published January 2012 DSTI/ICCP/CISP(2011)4/FINAL
• Analysis of M2M impact on
– Competition (liberalisation needed)
– Spectrum (lock in of bands)
– Privacy and security (streetlights privacy sensitive)
– Numbering (you may run out)
– Access to (Public Sector) Information (share)
• Only touch on competition here. The rest
is equally important!

5. What Network?GEOGRAPHICALLY
DISPERSED
Application: smart grid, meter, city
remote monitoring
Technology Required:PSTN,
broadband, 2G/3G/4G, power line
communication
Application: car automation, eHealth,
logistics, portable consumer electronics
Technology Required:2G/3G/4G,
satellite
GEOGRAPHICALLY
CONCENTRATED
Application: smart home, factory
automation, eHealth
Technology Required: wireless
personal area (WPA), networks,
wired networks, indoor electrical
wiring, Wi-Fi
Application: on-site logistics
Technology Required: Wi-Fi, WPAN
GEOGRAPHICALLY FIXED GEOGRAPHICALLY MOBILE

6. Mobile networks
• 2G/3G/4G networks standardized by
3GPP globally most prevalent networks
• Allow communication everywhere, where
there is a road.
• 220 countries, ~800 operators
• Roaming supported
• Connect once, connect everywhere
• IMSI as the basis, SIM for authentication

7. Current market failures M2M
• 20 year lock-in with mobile operator
– Changing SIM is undoable for million devices
• No competition in roaming
• No way to route around network failure
– 20% devices unavailable >10 mins/day
– National roaming is solution.
• Mobile networks only cover 80% M2M
devices
– National roaming 2 networks cover 98%
• No innovation to bypass mobile operator

8. SIM = Control
• SIM allows zero user-configuration
authentication to networks. (it just works)
• SIM contains IMSI-number and
encryption parameters/keys.
• SIM is property of mobile network
• Networks verify authentication with owner
of SIM (correct crypto, bills paid etc.)
• Governments only give IMSI-numbers to
telco’s, not car companies or others.

9. Control of SIM saves Billions
• Proposal to give M2M end user (car
company, energy) control of SIM
– Makes M2M user == Orange == AT&T (except for
spectrum license)
• Would solve all market failures
– Choice between 1, 2 or x networks/country
• Roaming only exists in telco’s imagination
– Easy switchover.
• Allow access on network B on day 1, switch off
network A on day 1+ (allow for testing)
– Innovation like access to Wifi with EAP-SIM
• Saves billions and generates new services

10. Market reaction
This is an excellent document !
Congratulations on the authors for their
foresight. It deals with one of the key
issues we are facing as GPS-based toll
operator (i.e. locked in with the SIM card
suppliers.)
(Reaction to OECD – International Transport Forum Policy Brief on Internet
of Things and Transport)

11. Market reaction
• 2 major car manufacturers now gathering
all data necessary to become independent
• Consumer electronics company: “everyone
wants this”
• Several telecom service providers see
enormous new business
• Governments slowly moving to
liberalisation.

12. Impact of liberalisation
• M2M customer in control
– ‘million device user’
– Private Virtual Network Operator
• Competition between network operators
– National and international
– Change operators in hours/days
• Customer-led innovation
– ie. new data roaming for laptops/tablets
– Paying for x pictures uploaded to Facebook

13. Soft-SIMs
• Everyone has a proposal/patent on Soft-
SIM and eUICC
– 3GPP working on proposal
• Development blocked by stakeholders
– Afraid of Apple/Google
• Proposals designed with operator in
control
• User can only do what operator wants

14. Soft-SIMs don’t scale
• The million device user wants control
– Determine which network the device works on
– Change operator when network is down or border is
crossed (which is actually the same)
– Bypass the telco and its cost structure
• eUICC doesn’t allow this
– No change of operator when network is down or
crossing border
– Can’t support move of million devices in a day from
one operator in once country to another operator in
another country.
• Million device user wants Soft-SIM but only
when it can control it.

15. Contact
• Rudolf van der Berg
• Rudolf.vanderberg@oecd.org