Multi-IMSI vs. eUICC: Exploring Global Connectivity Options

Global connectivity has long been complicated, with hurdles rooted in the vast ecosystem of network providers. Connecting to a single provider and having connectivity anywhere in the world has not been possible. Global connectivity challenges are increasing as data sovereignty and permanent roaming regulations are adopted in more and more countries. The world is demanding digitalization, and connectivity options are adapting to meet those needs. A few options exist, and this blog explores two of the mainstream options and how to choose between Multi-IMSI vs eUICC. :

Multi-IMSI: A Multiple Operator Approach

The connectivity on a device is enabled through a SIM card – whether it’s a physical SIM, eSIM, or iSIM. The SIM stores the profile of the selected Mobile Network Operator (MNO) through the IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity). Primarily, and historically, SIM cards have been a single IMSI, which means that a device could only connect to one MNO, whether that be Telefonica, Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, or otherwise. 

This is a fine situation for consumer devices, as many users only need to connect to one network and, if they travel internationally, can connect to local networks through roaming agreements that allow for local connections for “foreign devices” between 30 to 90 days. 

The Challenges of a Single IMSI

A single IMSI for an IoT device, however, is not ideal if the device travels – for example, an asset tracker or equipment monitoring devices. It is also not ideal if a device is manufactured in one region and then deployed in another. Permanent roaming has been the option in these instances, but has significant drawbacks. 

The latency in data communications through the home network and then on to the local network is much higher, so reliability and performance may suffer. This makes roaming not ideal for automotive, IP camera, and battery-operated use cases, among others. 

Permanent roaming has been an option for permanently deployed devices, but again, the drawbacks of roaming are the same, in addition to the growing number of countries that have banned permanent roaming. Additionally, for deploying devices across a large geographic area, leveraging a single network operator isn’t possible. Wrapped around all of these challenges are the high costs associated with roaming. Also, roaming agreements can quickly change, leaving devices in the dark. 

The Benefits of Multi-IMSI

Multi-IMSI allows multiple profiles to be stored on the SIM card, which allows the SIM to connect to more than one operator. With a single IMSI, coverage can be lost, or gaps in service may occur. With connected devices, losing coverage, visibility, or data communications is not an option.

Multi-IMSI also sidesteps any network faults that might occur. With a single IMSI, if a local network or the core network fails, there would be no service at all. However, leveraging a multi-IMSI applet means that devices can automatically connect to the networks held by the other IMSIs as well as switching to another core network. 

Finally, it also reduces the reliance on roaming agreements. Multi-IMSI connectivity aims at delivering services through direct relationships with local network operators, so local connectivity is used directly as much as possible instead of through a roaming agreement hosted through your home network. This also has positive cost implications, as you have better control over what network you want to use based on coverage or cost, so you can optimize your pricing.

eUICC: A Carrier-Agnostic Approach

Another approach to global connectivity, which is similar to Multi-IMSI but has key differences, is eUICC. 

eUICC stands for Embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Card, and it is a GSMA-standardised technology that can be leveraged in many different form factors. A common misnomer for eUICC is eSIM, but eUICC is the technology, and eSIM is a form factor. eUICC can be used in numerous SIMs—mini, nano, micro, eSIM, or iSIM. 

The Benefits of eUICC

The GSMA standard allows the eUICC to provision Over-the-Air (OTA), which allows organizations to add profiles from new carriers and switch those profiles remotely – removing the need to change the SIM card in the device physically. This allows for one SIM and multiple profiles. Again, this has circumvented the historical challenge of carrier lock-in,  particularly for OEMs. A device manufacturer might have 1,000 devices being sent to 10 different countries that need 12 different carriers. That’s a lot of SIM cards and logistics to manage. 

Or the OEM might not even know where the devices will be deployed. They might send  1,000 SIMs to an IoT distributor, reseller, or service provider that will then deploy the devices worldwide, so having a carrier-agnostic SIM that can be provisioned later on to the carrier of choice is a great option. 

This, of course, also helps with permanent roaming restrictions and helps future-proof the device if a carrier change is needed. 

The Challenges with eUICC

While eUICC certainly provides key benefits in achieving global connectivity, it isn’t without complexity. Most eUICCs are registered to a particular Subscription Management Secure Routing (SM-SR) service, which is responsible for enabling and disabling profiles and securing communications. If your chosen MNO isn’t an existing partner, you’re going to incur heavy costs to integrate. 

And each time an organization wants to add new MNOs and their profiles to the eUICC, that creates an operator-by-operator approach, which is complicated. Leveraging multiple MNOs means multiple contracts, SLAs, agreements, and so on, which makes management cumbersome. 

Downloading new MNO profiles uses a lot of data, and for IoT devices, which have a pretty low ARPU, you might be spending more on downloading profiles than the device generates in a single year. 

This is not to say that eUICC isn’t a great technology and extremely helpful, because it is. It just can be applied in a different approach that maximizes its benefits while reducing its challenges. 

Multi-IMSI vs eUICC: The Best of Both Worlds

One way to get the best out of Multi-IMSI and eUICC is to work with a multi-IMSI provider for connectivity services and use that as the first profile on your eUICC-compliant SIM. Within this single Multi-IMSI profile, dozens of profiles can be accessed. Switching IMSIs can be done OTA without the costs of downloading an entirely new profile because in many cases IMSIs are already provisioned in the profile or worst case only the IMSI is downloaded. 

This approach allows the organization to work with a sole vendor that offers a complete connectivity management platform instead of multiple MNOs. All IMSIs can be viewed and managed through a single portal, and they can be switched whenever and without reaching out to individual operators. 

floLIVE Multi-IMSI and eUICC Approach

floLIVE offers flexible solutions to global connectivity through eUICC and multi-IMSI technology. If you want to learn more about our multi-IMSI approach, contact us, and we can schedule a demo.