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Is there any reason for carriers to prefer physical SIM cards? When I put my phone on T-Mobile two years ago, they insisted on a physical SIM. At the time I wa

Is there any reason for carriers to prefer physical SIM cards? When I put my phone on T-Mobile two years ago, they insisted on a physical SIM. At the time I was told it was necessary to get the fastest speeds.

znpy 3y ago
Control. When i was working with the emerging (at the time) nfc technology it was evident it was all about control: the sim card usually holds the secure element, and it’s really a war between carriers, os providers and phone manufacturers. Who controls the secure element controls another big share of the user’s life.
- enos_feedler 3y ago
  Well carriers own the networks that the secure element grants access to. At the end of the day I dont think carriers care about who owns the tokens/auth data for the network, but that 1) they are furnished by the network under their own control and 2) they get paid for the network access
  - AnotherGoodName 3y ago
    An example where this matters is tethering right now. My android phone won't tether. It's an unlocked android phone bought independently of the carrier. But it won't tether the connection to another device as my provider has a flag that this is not supported and android due to pressure from carriers obeys this on all phones, even non carrier locked phones. Of course I can just swap the sim into a dedicated tethering hotspot and it works. But esim will soon fix that as esims are tied to the phone.
sangnoir 3y ago
> Is there any reason for carriers to prefer physical SIM cards? I'm not in telecoms, but I suppose they want to disintermediate device manufacturers who are trying to insinuate themselves between networks and their subscribers. Maybe with a hint of reducing points of failure
enos_feedler 3y ago
Verizon has done this to in the past. They told me directly they prefer physical SIM over esim. I think its mostly a fear of unknown vs comfort of what is known. Ultimately it means reduced friction between the top 3 big networks. It goes both ways though. Easier for people to leave and easier to join. These companies are moving toward a software / service discounts to retain users instead of the inconvenience of sim changes
jasonjayr 3y ago
Personally; I prefer the physical SIM card. I can move it to whatever device I personally want to authorize to use that line. eSIM sounds like passkeys, in that it's tied to the device and whoever controls the code that runs on that device.
bandergirl 3y ago
I don't know the reason, but in some countries (like the Philippines) eSIMs are only available to postpaid users. I don't know the reason. > At the time I was told it was necessary to get the fastest speeds. I wouldn't believe what telco operators tell me, it's more like there's incompetence at some level of the company.

znpy 3y ago

Control. When i was working with the emerging (at the time) nfc technology it was evident it was all about control: the sim card usually holds the secure element, and it’s really a war between carriers, os providers and phone manufacturers. Who controls the secure element controls another big share of the user’s life.

enos_feedler 3y ago
Well carriers own the networks that the secure element grants access to. At the end of the day I dont think carriers care about who owns the tokens/auth data for the network, but that 1) they are furnished by the network under their own control and 2) they get paid for the network access
- AnotherGoodName 3y ago
  An example where this matters is tethering right now. My android phone won't tether. It's an unlocked android phone bought independently of the carrier. But it won't tether the connection to another device as my provider has a flag that this is not supported and android due to pressure from carriers obeys this on all phones, even non carrier locked phones. Of course I can just swap the sim into a dedicated tethering hotspot and it works. But esim will soon fix that as esims are tied to the phone.

sangnoir 3y ago

> Is there any reason for carriers to prefer physical SIM cards? I'm not in telecoms, but I suppose they want to disintermediate device manufacturers who are trying to insinuate themselves between networks and their subscribers. Maybe with a hint of reducing points of failure

enos_feedler 3y ago

Verizon has done this to in the past. They told me directly they prefer physical SIM over esim. I think its mostly a fear of unknown vs comfort of what is known. Ultimately it means reduced friction between the top 3 big networks. It goes both ways though. Easier for people to leave and easier to join. These companies are moving toward a software / service discounts to retain users instead of the inconvenience of sim changes

jasonjayr 3y ago

Personally; I prefer the physical SIM card. I can move it to whatever device I personally want to authorize to use that line. eSIM sounds like passkeys, in that it's tied to the device and whoever controls the code that runs on that device.

bandergirl 3y ago

I don't know the reason, but in some countries (like the Philippines) eSIMs are only available to postpaid users. I don't know the reason. > At the time I was told it was necessary to get the fastest speeds. I wouldn't believe what telco operators tell me, it's more like there's incompetence at some level of the company.