Expanding Mobile Phone Subscriber Base Drives Demand for Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)

The worldwide market for SIM Cards is projected to cross 9 billion by 2024, driven by the robust growth of SIM cards across categories such as LTE cards, embedded and nano-SIM cards, and expanding mobile phone subscriber base in developing countries.

A Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card is a smart card inserted into a mobile device for storing the international mobile subscriber identity and personal data of a subscriber. The growth in the market is primarily driven by new subscriber additions. At present, the market which was traditionally driven by the proliferation of mobile telephony is expected to be driven by expanding applications of SIM cards into other non-conventional sectors. SIM cards are finding extensive use in M2M applications, near field communications (NFC) applications, contactless transactions and in access-entry systems, among others. In developing markets such as in Asia-Pacific and Latin-America, market growth is being backed by increased penetration of mobile services, spiraling sales of mobile phones and smartphones and falling communication services prices as a result of increased competition among service providers.

The growth is also supported by the advent of new generation communication network platforms such as 4G. Migration to 3G and advanced LTE and 4G networks is creating increased demand for LTE SIM cards. Following the integration of multimedia functions in mobile phones, there is a growing demand for SIM cards with more memory storage capacity. In line with the trend towards smart phones with increasingly complex features and functionality, SIM cards have evolved to take on more complex functions such as NFC payments, besides authenticating a subscriber to a phone network. The new evolution of SIM cards is currently focused on Embedded and Remote Provisioning solutions. Embedded SIM specifications allow a SIM card to be embedded in the M2M device and also feature Remote Provisioning functionality. With the evolution of form factors and functionality in the wearables segment, fully embedded SIM card with remote provisioning is expected to be an attractive option to render flexibility and connectivity. 

As stated by the new market research report on Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), Asia-Pacific represents the largest and the fastest growing market worldwide with a CAGR of 5.1% over the analysis period led by factors such as strong penetration of low cost smartphones and feature phones, development of the mobile communication infrastructure, continued migration towards 3.5 and 4G networks, falling voice and data tariffs and increased consumer adoption of the same. The robust penetration of dual SIM phones in Southeast Asia is additionally expected to provide volume boost to the shipments of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards in the region.   

Major players in the market include, Bartronics India Limited, Eastcompeace Technology Co. Ltd., Etisalat Services Holding, Gemalto NV, Giesecke + Devrient, Hansol Secure Co. Ltd., IDEMIA, KONA I, Watchdata Technologies Pte Ltd., and Wuhan Tianyu Information Industry Co. Ltd., among others.

The research report titled “Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) - Market Analysis, Trends, and Forecasts” announced by Global Industry Analysts Inc., provides a comprehensive review of market trends, drivers, issues, and strategic industry activities of companies worldwide. The report provides market estimates and projections for all major geographic markets including the US, Canada, Japan, Europe (France, Germany, Italy, UK, Spain, Russia, and Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, India, and Rest of Asia-Pacific), Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, and Rest of Latin America), and Rest of World.

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