SIMalliance morphs into trusted connectivity alliance to expand scope and membership in SIM industry

18 February, 2020 at 3:28 PM

Posted by: Anasia D'mello

In line with the continued growth and evolution of the global SIM industry, SIMalliance has opened up its membership beyond traditional SIM vendors in order to extend the scope of its work. The new-look organisation aims to address both established and emerging SIM technologies and engage new industry participants. The move has led SIMalliance to change its name to the Trusted Connectivity Alliance (TCA).

The new organisation will facilitate the sustained growth of connected objects through trusted connectivity which offers protection for service provider assets, device data and end user privacy.

Remy Cricco, chairman of Trusted Connectivity Alliance, comments, “SIM technology use cases are expanding rapidly in line with ubiquitous global connectivity. As a result, the number of devices, applications and stakeholders engaging within the SIM ecosystem, previously considered the domain of SIM card manufacturers and mobile network operators, has broadened in recent years.

“SIMalliance has played a crucial role in facilitating and accelerating delivery of secure global services, through the development, enhancement and clarification of specifications and its work to promote a standardised security infrastructure. Among its many achievements, it established the first API for Android apps to communicate with the SIM or Secure Element and execute security services.”

“Its development work on a technical specification for GSMA has been critical in allowing mobile network operators to load connectivity profiles in an eSIM. It also played a significant role in supporting the maintenance of the hardware SIM in 5G, by educating on the importance of security for networks and users. Most recently, it has been working with GSMA to specify a common API and define a standardised way for the SIM to be leveraged to securely perform mutual authentication between IoT device applications and the cloud.”

“Trusted Connectivity Alliance will build on this strong legacy by bringing together a wider group of stakeholders within today’s SIM ecosystem to focus on one goal: enabling trusted mobile connectivity. This is an essential foundation for the continued growth of connected objects globally. The new organisation will continue to support the standardisation of SIM technologies and will champion the significant security advantages that secure elements (SE), including SIMs, can offer in the protection of connected devices and services.”

Remy Cricco

In addition to traditional SIM manufacturers, Trusted Connectivity Alliance welcomes members with a related interest in SIM, embedded SIM (eSIM), embedded SE (eSE), integrated SE and SIM (iSE, iSIM), hardware and software IP provisioning or related personalisation services. This includes established players from the connected device ecosystem who are entering into SIM and SE provision for the first time.

Trusted Connectivity Alliance members represent over 80% of the global SIM market and include: Arm, Card Centric, COMPRION, Gemalto (a Thales company), Giesecke+Devrient Mobile Security, IDEMIA, KONA I, Linxens, ST, Valid, Watchdata, Workz and Wuhan Tianyu.

Remy Cricco continues, “Worldwide SIM shipments remain significant, with over 5.6 billion shipped in 2018. On top of this, new connectivity needs are fueling demand for additional eSIM solutions, there is a prospect of integrated technologies on the horizon and new types of solutions are being brought to market by actors new to the SIM ecosystem.”

“The evolution of SIMalliance to become the Trusted Connectivity Alliance reflects a unanimous belief within the organisation that industry collaboration in security provision for connected devices is in the interest of all stakeholders and the development of a standardised ecosystem. We move enthusiastically towards enabling a secure connected future and look forward to the opportunities that broader industry collaboration will bring.”

Trusted Connectivity Alliance will work with industry partners, including ETSI, Eurosmart, GlobalPlatform, GSMA and MIPI Alliance, to support the continued standardisation of the SIM ecosystem alongside other technical industry associations and standards bodies. Members will participate in working groups to identify and deliver work requirements of a technical, strategic and marketing nature, which will support the ability of mobile network operators, OEMs, device manufacturers and service providers to choose solutions which benefit from end-to-end security. They will also participate in an annual shipments market monitoring process, allowing Trusted Connectivity Alliance to provide an exclusive and statistical view of the relevant markets, based on members’ shipment data.

The organisation launches with working groups focused on the following areas of work activity: eUICC, 5G, integrated technologies, interoperability, and IoT Security Application.

The Trusted Connectivity Alliance is governed by a Board of Directors, which retains responsibility for defining the future roadmap for the organisation. Current Board members are: