TRAI Releases Recommendations on 'Usage of eSIM for M2M Communications'

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Tuesday released recommendations aimed at streamlining the regulatory landscape of machine-to-machine (M2M) embedded SIM (eSIM) in India.

Hyderabad: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(TRAI), working under the Government of India, on Tuesday released recommendations on ‘Usage of Embedded SIM for Machine-to-Machine (M2M) Communications’.

Department of Telecommunications (DoT), through its letter dated November 9, 2021, sought TRAI's recommendations under the TRAI Act, 1997 on the usage of embedded SIM for M2M communications. In this regard, TRAI issued a Consultation Paper on ‘Embedded SIM for M2M Communications’ on July 25, 2022, for soliciting comments/counter comments from stakeholders.

In response, 15 stakeholders submitted their comments. An open house discussion on the consultation paper was held on December 14, 2022 through virtual mode. Based on the comments/inputs received from stakeholders, extensive deliberations on the subject and on its own analysis, the TRAI has finalised its recommendations.

With the rolling out of 5G services in the country, the opportunities for M2M ecosystem have expanded greatly, offering increased scope for applications in various sectors of the economy such as agriculture, transportation, healthcare and industrial automation. These recommendations are aimed at streamlining the regulatory landscape of M2M embedded SIM (eSIM) in India.

Through these recommendations, the Authority has laid emphasis on ensuring security by way of proper Know Your Customer (KYC), which is essential for ensuring network security, mitigating fraud risks and enhancing the overall integrity of the M2M eSIM ecosystem. The Authority has also recommended a framework for profile switching of eSIMs and swapping of SM-SR. This will provide significant flexibility to the M2M eSIM users and will promote healthy competition in the sector.

Implementation of these Recommendations by the Government will promote orderly growth in the M2M eSIM segment of the telecom sector in India and will stimulate the development of a homegrown M2M eSIM ecosystem in the country, thus enabling the growth of modern M2M communication.

"Keeping in view the challenges in its implementation, the use of 901.XX IMSI series allocated by International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to Indian entities should not be permitted for providing M2M services in India, at this stage," said the TRAI.

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