The SIM card was getting long in the tooth – awkward to install and a pain to change with every new phone, provider, or trip abroad. In came the eSIM, whose benefits include massive cost savings from not having multiple devices for different purposes. And the iPhone 14 last year finally made it mainstream.

But how could those benefits for consumers be applied to businesses to save them time, money, and avoid security issues? Imagine a global auto brand connecting all its private networks across different manufacturing sites to leverage data. Any vehicle or device travelling outside the private network must stay connected as it moves across public networks.

This is what the future of massive IoT looks like – and eSIMs are a huge part of that because they give enterprises a single-SIM access point to and between private networks and national/international public networks. But here’s the rub: enterprises have struggled massively to adopt eSIMs because of the complex integration required with Mobile Network Operators.

This was the perfect opportunity for BICS, with its history and expertise in telco and enterprise connectivity, to bridge the gap.

In 2022, BICS partnered with Thales on a new IoT eSIM solution – a major turning point in the industry to help foster an open ecosystem of eSIM for IoT so enterprises can unlock its true potential.

Removing the barriers will lead to bigger and bolder global IoT deployments, bringing massive IoT closer to becoming a reality. This in turn will mean large numbers of new smart products for end-users and promising new business opportunities such as for industry 4.0, smart metering, smart cities or connected alarm systems. The partnership combined the former’s SIM for Things platform with the latter’s IoT Connectivity Activation service, applying the simplicity of consumer eSIMs to the broader IoT market while further streamlining connectivity activation for enterprises. The result has been to drastically optimise costs and efforts for the mobile industry to manage SIM profiles on IoT devices.

As an essential global connectivity partner, BICS is supporting this ecosystem by enabling the provisioning of eSIMs inside Thales Cinterion modules. These modules can then connect to mobile network operators anywhere in the world with Thales IoT Connectivity service. With a unique global coverage for any IoT technology and its SIM for Things solution, BICS aims to make enterprises’ global IoT projects even more simple and reliable. Easy, flexible global connectivity will help enterprises take that missing step to scale their international IoT projects towards success.

Our SIMs utilise our patented applet to prevent them from becoming victims of an IMSI catcher, protecting devices from information extraction, data interception and denial of service (DoS) threats.

ZARIOT proprietary signalling security technology prevents location tracking, SMS interception, fraud, DoS, data interception and network information disclosure. The IP layer connectivity from the secure ZARIOT network to the IoT application server is secured with an IPSec VPN, and the APN lock provides end-point security.

All verticals need to secure business- and mission-critical devices against DoS attacks and to effectively ensure data integrity and privacy. ZARIOT allows unrivalled control of connectivity and security, and provides cellular security and true end-to-end data encryption for the lifetime of devices, no matter their application.