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SIM Cards Must Die

ilyabirman.net

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Re: SIM Cards Must Die

#61

Post by kamjam »

rlpb wrote: post #46
sepposade wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Each phone could have a built in key for signing. You could tell operators to not allow any other phone except for yours (which has this key) to access your account. Not a problem.

SIM cards are exactly this, with the added benefit of (almost) two factor authentication. If I have my SIM card, I can be reasonably confident that you can't pretend to be me. If phones managed keys, I'd be more worried that you've managed to copy my key somehow.

Especially give the sheer number of apps out there and reports of apps doing more than they should, as well as users blindly installing apps with higher permissions than they actually require. This would get exploited very quickly no doubt.

Re: SIM Cards Must Die

#62

Post by kamjam »

rlpb wrote: post #51

I think the author is conflating SIM cards with vendor lock-in. Phones locked to SIM cards from a particular carrier are not good. If you want them to die, then fine - but that's got nothing to do with SIM cards. SIM cards as authentication tokens work just fine. My phone takes SIM cards from any carrier. If I want to switch carriers, the new carrier just sends me a new SIM card. Get rid of SIM cards, and you're goin…

In the UK now (possibly the EU) at the end of your contract (normally 18-24 months) the carrier has to unlock your phone now, my brother just came to the end of his contract and had his iPhone unlocked for free.

Re: SIM Cards Must Die

#63

Post by bane »

antihero wrote: post #35
Arubis wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's been the case for ages because Verizon is a CDMA network, not GSM -- GSM takes SIM cards, while CDMA does not. Different tech. This is likely to shift as V rolls out LTE, which DOES take SIM cards. So we're actually likely to see more intercompatibility as things progress. Except, of course, that everything's still likely to be carrier-locked.

Is there actually any benefit to CDMA?

My understanding from a friend in the telecom business is that, because the network operates at higher power, you need fewer towers for the same coverage area as GSM (GSM has a limit of something like 30km from a tower). And it tolerates multiple users in the same frequency space better than GSM and is less prone to interference from terrestrial radio signals.

edit: here's a great comparison http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_mobile_phone_stan...

Re: SIM Cards Must Die

#64

Post by dasil003 »

jeffpalmer wrote: post #34

While the concept is solid, getting carriers to go along with this is going to be impossible I would imagine. The other issue at hand is hardware pricing, especially for US consumers. In the US, carriers love to lock their customers in by SIM locking their subsidized hardware and customers have come to expect this low cost subsidized hardware. If you suddenly switched to a system where hardware was sold at retail cos…

Sure US consumers are generally ignorant about the ins and outs of subsidized hardware, and they take 2-year contracts as a matter of course. But there's no reason a lot of people wouldn't pay full price if the economics were laid bare.

For instance, when I tell my US friends that I pay £15 / month for unlimited data, 300 mins, and 3000 texts on my iPhone with tethering in the UK, it blows their minds. The fact that I can hop over to another country, buy a sim card for 10 bucks and instantly have data without having to sit on hold and beg a customer service rep to unlock my phone and then wait weeks is another huge bonus that any internationally traveling American can appreciate.

The only problem right now is that major carriers have a good thing going with overpriced contract plans and see little reason to offer reasonably priced pay as you go, thus giving Americans the impression that mobile service is inherently more expensive than it is and believing that they are getting a great deal with subsidized phones. But with globalization this illusion is bound to come crumbling down sooner or later, and customers will demand more.

Re: SIM Cards Must Die

#66

Post by josteink »

boondoggle wrote: post #55

Apple already have a patent for a virtual SIM card: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/11/11/apple_sim_patent/

I hear Apple and patents have a good track-record of ending up as standardized, reusable technology. A very good track, record indeed.

If this has been already patented by the Cupertino-based patent-troll, it is by definition doomed as a standard.

Re: SIM Cards Must Die

#67

Post by poundy »

One additional issue is certain countries (eg: India) require a photographic ID, etc before they issue a SIM. This is becoming a larger issue in Europe and elsewhere.

Re: SIM Cards Must Die

#68

Post by josteink »

This guy so doesn't get it. It's almost as if he is trolling.

SIM cards (as implemented everywhere in the world except the US) is made to allow exactly the portability which he seeks.

I fail to see why it is even linked here.

Edit: Also why is he illustrating this with an iPhone? Is it for lulz that he in the name of advocating openness links to the closest closed phone of all out there?

I'm voting troll here.

Re: SIM Cards Must Die

#69

Post by satori99 »

In Australia, you must provide ID to purchase a SIM card. Whether it is pre-paid or post-paid. It is illegal to sell a SIM anonymously. I guess this is for law enforcement reasons, and that they wouldn't like to lose the ability to match a SIM with a citizen quickly and easily.

Re: SIM Cards Must Die

#70

Post by brudgers »

antihero wrote: post #35
Arubis wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's been the case for ages because Verizon is a CDMA network, not GSM -- GSM takes SIM cards, while CDMA does not. Different tech. This is likely to shift as V rolls out LTE, which DOES take SIM cards. So we're actually likely to see more intercompatibility as things progress. Except, of course, that everything's still likely to be carrier-locked.

Is there actually any benefit to CDMA?

In the US, indirectly. Verizon tends to have the best coverage in many parts of the country.
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