The reason why MNOs choose Thales 5G SIM cards
Network operators worldwide are rolling out 5G services at an accelerated pace.
And the primary reason is that the new 5G technology unlocks telcos' business potential, unlike any previous network technology in consumer and IoT market verticals.
Over 20 MNOs have already selected Thales as their supplier of choice for 5G SIMs, deploying around 120 million units since 2020.
Why?
In short, the common denominator of all our business case drivers is that they want to be the first to profit from what many consider the most powerful network technology ever deployed.
And these 5G SIM cards provide an edge for our customers.
How MNOs face the 5G technology
5G technology unlocks Telcos' business potential, unlike any other network technology in consumer and IoT market verticals.
5G architecture represents a real revolution in that everything previously controlled by MNOs becomes virtualized, outsourced, and hosted by multiple actors across the industry.
However, this also means that the potential surface of vulnerability is increasing everywhere.
In parallel, local regulations governing user-data privacy, such as GDPR or CCPA/CPRA, combined with 5G security requirements, are developing momentum in the industry, pushing telcos to comply with 5G secure implementation on every network level.
5G enables much more demanding and sensitive services than other technologies, potentially putting national sovereignty at risk.
In essence, security is no longer an option. It's a genuine concern and a prerequisite for a trusted MNO business continuity.
How and when to use the full 5G tech potential
Addressing such security concerns in a fragmented ecosystem combined with a phased 5G rollout is complex, from 5G non-standalone (NSA) to 5G standalone (SA) and 5G phase 2 (slicing, machine type communication), and so on.
- MNOs need to anticipate future technical needs to unlock all the business potential of 5G.
- They must establish the right moment to invest in new products for a resilient 5G rollout.
- They need to be guided in mitigating security concerns with their investments.
- And they must work out how to comply with ever-evolving security regulations and recommendations and be able to provide evidence of compliance if needed.
Thales' 5G SIM: aligned with our clients' business roadmaps
Thales's 5G SIM ensures strict compliance with telecom standards along with field-proven interoperability across connected devices, networks, and equipment.
It is the perfect solution for the secure hosting of sensitive network credentials and end-user identities while running critical operations such as IMSI encryption.
End-user identity encryption in Thales's 5G SIM is designed for telcos who want to maintain control over their privacy policy with no compromise on security and optimized qualification efforts.
There's more.
The Thales 5G SIM also offers unique flexibility and deployment scalability. It is post-issuance upgradable, just like any other smart connected object, while the physical SIM is always technically aligned with the telco's business roadmap.
Maximize 5G investments. Now.
With Thales's 5G SIM, telecom operators retain control over their end-user ID security policy and slice deployment.
It helps avoid friction in the network chain by quickly providing encrypted user IDs, especially during the 5G learning curve where network implementation is little-known, and unpredictable bad network or device behaviors could still occur.
There is no need to replace the physical SIM to integrate a new 5G 3GPP release.
It sounds simple, and it is.
An overnight upgrade is all that is required, as it already happens with smartphones.
Value-added applications are enhanced to maximize 5G investments, including the steering of roaming, slice selection, private/public network handover, and IOT safe (GSMA).
A preferred partner for many OEMs and vendors
Thales released the world's first 5G SIM in early 2019 and has more than 120 million units deployed worldwide across various 5G network implementations.
Our manufacturing footprint and agility, combined with our IC supply strategy, enabled us to serve our customers during tough times with Covid and the IC shortage without compromising product quality or lead times.
Thales has been the SIM market leader for over a decade, with a 23% market share, according to ABI Research (2022), supplying more than 450 telecom operators in 150 countries.
Our customers tell us we are their preferred partner to support innovation and help address their critical business challenges and transitions.
Indeed, we partner and co-engineer with more than 150 major network equipment vendors, device makers, and original equipment manufacturers.
Be ready for the upcoming 5G Challenges!
Subscriber ID Privacy
Thales target: Thales 5G SIM securely encrypts the IMSI of the end user and deliver it to the smartphone. Encrypted IMSI is sent over the air; it is no longer possible for hackers to intercept IMSI in clear over the air in the network.
Heterogeneous Networks
Thales target: Thales 5G SIM enhances mobile user experience with a faster and mutualized access method to different multiple network technologies such as Wifi, 4G or 5G radio access. Network temporary credentials are stored in 5G SIM.
Roaming
Thales target: Demonstrate that the new standardized 5G steering of roaming solution (SIM + OTA server) over the signalling layer removes all actual technical barriers in the steering of roaming use case. An unfairly visited network cannot intercept/modify the roaming business rules sent by the home network to the end user's SIM card when he is detected roaming abroad.
Network Slicing
Thales target: Thales 5G SIM card and OTA services ensure that the end user device is well configured to redirect the end user application to the most adequate network slice depending on data usage expectations to guarantee the utmost quality of service.
SIM Upgradability
Thales target: The Thales 5G SIM operating system becomes now upgradable post-issuance over the air like any other smart connected objects such as smart watches, smart TVs, smartphones, etc…
Cyber resilience
Thales target: The objective of the sequence is to demonstrate how Thales 5G SIM and OTA services can remotely restore a trustful security context in the SIM in case sensitive information has been exposed unexpectedly or accidentally outside the SIM.
