Things Mobile Presents an e-SIM for the Internet of Things

Things Mobile is breaking new ground on two fronts in the Internet of Things market. At the 2017 Mobile World Congress in Shanghai, the company is making its debut as the world’s first mobile operator dedicated to the IoT and it is also unveiling its e-SIM.

Their e-SIM is a virtual card that has been created for the IoT and can be actually used with real objects for the first time anywhere in the world. Their e-SIM is a significant innovation in the Internet of Things, as it is the first real IoT SIM card in the world.

Things Mobile is presenting two versions of the e-SIM: one for consumer devices such as smartwatches, and one for industrial use that is indestructible, remains fully functional even in extreme conditions and can withstand temperatures from -40°C to +105°C, high moisture levels and vibrations. The SIM cards support customers on all networks: 2G, 3G and 4G LTE.

The inventor of Things Mobile and its e-SIM is Manuel Zanella, who is also the founder and CEO of Zeromobile, the first low cost roaming Mobile Operator, and the founder and CEO of ChatSim, the SIM card designed to chat free of charge and without limits with WhatsApp and other Instant Messaging Apps. Zeromobile is the majority shareholder in the Things Mobile project. Its partners are the investment company Angelsim Sarl (which also invested in ChatSim) and Juan de la Coba, ChatSim co-founder.

“With the e-SIM system by Things Mobile, the tasks for which old-fashioned SIM cards are usually responsible are performed by a chip that is embedded directly in smartwatches, trackers and numerous other smart devices," explained company CEO Manuel Zanella. He added that it is capable of doing everything that a traditional SIM card can, while also offering outstanding innovation and significant benefits.

According to a new research by IHS Markit, from 2019 e-SIM systems will be in increasingly widespread use among smartphone manufacturers. The study predicts that by 2021 there are expected to be more than 980 million e-SIMs in use, although it is thought that there will still be 5.1 billion devices that utilize removable SIM cards.