Operators save headache of managing enterprise requirements for long M2M life cycles and sophisticated business process integration
Ericsson and Gemalto have announced a partnership to offer an integrated M2M solution based on embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Card (eUICC) subscription management technology.
The solution addresses operators' needs to meet enterprise requirements on management of long M2M life cycles and sophisticated business process integration.
Named Dynamic Device Subscription Management, the product comprises of the Ericsson Device Connection Platform integrated with the Gemalto Subscription Management Platform.
The combination of platforms, fully operated, reduces complexity of M2M deployments for mobile network operators and offers investment scalability. The solution also remotely manages all kinds of devices without the need to change the eUICC during the entire life cycle of a device.
For operators, the partnership means they get one integrated and streamlined M2M connectivity solution.
One area in which the new solution could be used is in smart metering or smart grid, suggested the duo, where meters or power stations are increasingly connected over mobile networks and typically have life times measured in decades. The same applies to the automotive market, where connected cars communicate via the mobile internet for various applications from entertainment to telematics solutions.
In these environments, operators face a number of challenges; M2M device makers today need to manage a number of variable parameters when manufacturing and issuing their devices. Firstly, the country where the device will be sold or the network they will connect to is not known. Secondly, the UICC are at an increasingly pace soldered into devices at the manufacturing stage. Finally, the durability of the device could imply a change in the connectivity provider during its lifecycle.
The combination of these factors requires flexibility and openness in the subscription management, which is where Ericsson and Gemalto believe their Dynamic Device Subscription Management solution can be of assistance.
The solution will be demonstrated at the upcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, in Ericsson's exhibition booth.
