Telecoms trade association the GSMA has published specifications to enable the remote over the air provision and management of embedded SIMs in M2M devices. The association said that its embedded SIM project has the backing of several tier-one operators and SIM solutions providers.

The project aims to ensure operators use interoperable technical solutions in order to accelerate the opportunities in the M2M market. The first deployments of GSMA-compliant embedded SIM solutions are expected to roll out in 2014.

According to the GSMA, its embedded SIM specifications will allow operators to provide scalable and secure connectivity for M2M devices. The association claimed that an industry-standard embedded SIM eliminates the need for operators to develop their own technical solutions and also helps end users to easily switch operators at the end of a contract.

Firms that have signed up to support the specifications include: AT&T, China Mobile, China Unicom, Deutsche Telekom, Gemalto, G&D, Morpho, NTT DOCOMO, Oberthur Technologies, Orange, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, Telenor and Vodafone.

“The number of mobile connected devices is expected to reach 11 billion by 2020, growth that will be led predominantly by advances in the M2M market,” said Alex Sinclair, CTO at GSMA.

“This level of growth will be heavily dependent on the adoption of a common, global and interoperable SIM provisioning and management architecture that enables the M2M market to flourish. The specification released today will have a significant impact on the M2M marketplace, as it will help provide lower operational costs and drive economies of scale.”