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Qualcomm wants to replace eSIMs with iSIMs, has the first certified SoC

arstechnica.com

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Re: Qualcomm wants to replace eSIMs with iSIMs, has the first certified SoC

#121

Post by wil421 »

chris_overseas wrote: post #44
Reason077 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "But it’s disappointing all round. I absolutely love how easy it is for me to buy a new phone, swap in my old SIM and I’m instantly using my old number." In theory, with an eSIM it's even easier to swap in your old SIM because you don't have to deal with the physical SIM card. Especially so if you don't have the physical SIM because it's lost or whatever. In my experience it's super frustrating to have to wait for…

> eSIMs are a massive win when travelling, too. Instantly activate a data plan at cheap local rates in whatever country your travelling to, without having to first get your hands on a physical SIM... For many years I've owned dual-SIM phones and on many occasions have bought a local SIM a the airport or corner store when travelling for a week or more to countires outside my roaming allowance. This is almost always ch…

I have not traveled out of the country since Covid but the last few times I would just enable an international plan on my carriers account. It was not much more than a local sim and I was able to use my number and everything.

Re: Qualcomm wants to replace eSIMs with iSIMs, has the first certified SoC

#122

Post by coretx »

bpfrh wrote: post #110
kuschku wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They can't do that with physical SIMs, because at least in the EU, there are regulations against that (to regulate stuff like phones and SIMs locked to each other)

I couldn't find that regulation and looking at wikipedia regulations about that are country specific: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIM_lock#European_Union It seems sim locking is legal, but unlocking has to be allowed after some time. I couldn't see anything that would differentiate between a carrier lock by esim vs a sim.

By EU law, the vendor of the phone has to provide updates for N year. There is no such regulation for SIM cards. ( Provided by telco's ) This means the vendor of the phone, not the telco, can simply say "we did our N years of updates", rendering the phone useless as esim requires it in order to function. It's beyond the power of the telco, because it did not provide the esim. It's not a "SIM lock", it's far more devious.

Re: Qualcomm wants to replace eSIMs with iSIMs, has the first certified SoC

#124

Post by coretx »

kramerger wrote: post #115
coretx wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not only french companies producing them and the entities who are involved in pushing SIM replacements aren't as interested in mundane things such as marketshare, money etc. as you might think. Don't forget this one for example: https://theintercept.com/2015/02/19/great-sim-heist/ I don't think the french abuse their SIM-powerposition, otherwise they would not force states like Palestine into using weaker encryp…

We are discussing two completely different issues :) If you ever worked in telecom, you know for the fact that the SIM companies have sabotaged and vetoed every attempt to get a sane eSIM or SIM-free standard. And nothing against the French :) , it just happens that the two largest and most agreesive companies in this area have French connections (Thales and Gemalto)

No denial from my side there, but regarding the other point: what else do those two have in common with each other ? Sometimes things really are what they look like.

Re: Qualcomm wants to replace eSIMs with iSIMs, has the first certified SoC

#125

Post by pilif »

goosedragons wrote: post #108
pilif wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it is more cumbersome to replace phones, as you have to move identities from phone to phone and get approvals by carriers and device makers instead of just replacing the physical SIM That really depends on the carrier. In my case, setting up a new iPhone to replace an old one means saying yes in the prompt displayed by the phone. Nothing else. This is more convenient than having to search for the SIM removal tool.…

How much more complicated and annoying is the process if you're going iPhone to Android or Android to iPhone? You take the SIM card out before handing it someone else.

you scan the QR code with your android phone. That will cause your existing phone to be unregistered.

What eSIM does is turn the physical smart card into a QR code which can be shown on a screen in addition to being printed on a piece of physical paper.

Re: Qualcomm wants to replace eSIMs with iSIMs, has the first certified SoC

#126

Post by World177 »

vanilla_nut wrote: post #120
World177 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There are carriers where any change to eSIM must be called in and you have to talk to a rep, where it takes hours to issue, etc. There's also now the option to just keep your primary phone number on a cheap plan, and have multiple other eSIMs for data usage. There's no longer the problem with having to contact a carrier to switch data plans if used in this way. Though, hopefully in time they will improve the experi…

I use Google Fi in the US, which offers (unlimited?) data-only SIMs for no cost in addition to my phone number-associated SIM. What exactly did eSIM enable here? With dual SIM phones, you can even put one data SIM and one number SIM in a single phone at the same time. Plus it's simple and easy to move either SIM to any other SIM-compatible device at any time.

> What exactly did eSIM enable here?

Some examples include

* Backup service in the event that an attacker gains access to your Google Fi account. A backup eSIM with data service for a year has pricing starting at like $2.

* Fast network access in other countries. As far as I know, Google Fi is a carrier in the United States, and does not include network access in other countries.

* Deprioritized on data? The ability to instantly buy a major carrier eSIM and have the data speeds back.

Re: Qualcomm wants to replace eSIMs with iSIMs, has the first certified SoC

#127

Post by tssva »

World177 wrote: post #126
vanilla_nut wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use Google Fi in the US, which offers (unlimited?) data-only SIMs for no cost in addition to my phone number-associated SIM. What exactly did eSIM enable here? With dual SIM phones, you can even put one data SIM and one number SIM in a single phone at the same time. Plus it's simple and easy to move either SIM to any other SIM-compatible device at any time.

> What exactly did eSIM enable here? Some examples include * Backup service in the event that an attacker gains access to your Google Fi account. A backup eSIM with data service for a year has pricing starting at like $2. * Fast network access in other countries. As far as I know, Google Fi is a carrier in the United States, and does not include network access in other countries. * Deprioritized on data? The ability…

> * Fast network access in other countries. As far as I know, Google Fi is a carrier in the United States, and does not include network access in other countries.

Google Fi offers network access in over 200 countries.

Re: Qualcomm wants to replace eSIMs with iSIMs, has the first certified SoC

#128

Post by World177 »

tssva wrote: post #127
World177 wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What exactly did eSIM enable here? Some examples include * Backup service in the event that an attacker gains access to your Google Fi account. A backup eSIM with data service for a year has pricing starting at like $2. * Fast network access in other countries. As far as I know, Google Fi is a carrier in the United States, and does not include network access in other countries. * Deprioritized on data? The ability…

> * Fast network access in other countries. As far as I know, Google Fi is a carrier in the United States, and does not include network access in other countries. Google Fi offers network access in over 200 countries.

You are correct. [1]

[1] https://fi.google.com/about/international-rates

Re: Qualcomm wants to replace eSIMs with iSIMs, has the first certified SoC

#129

Post by bpfrh »

coretx wrote: post #122
bpfrh wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I couldn't find that regulation and looking at wikipedia regulations about that are country specific: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIM_lock#European_Union It seems sim locking is legal, but unlocking has to be allowed after some time. I couldn't see anything that would differentiate between a carrier lock by esim vs a sim.

By EU law, the vendor of the phone has to provide updates for N year. There is no such regulation for SIM cards. ( Provided by telco's ) This means the vendor of the phone, not the telco, can simply say "we did our N years of updates", rendering the phone useless as esim requires it in order to function. It's beyond the power of the telco, because it did not provide the esim. It's not a "SIM lock", it's far more devi…

That could be bad, I would have never thought of that implication.

I'm not sure that would happen wouldn't most telcos be interested to allow as many users on the network as possible?

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