It was just a few months ago that we had first heard of the term nano SIM with rumors of it being “launched” by mid-2012. The proposal for the nano SIM was mooted by none other than Giesecke & Devrient, the company that invented the SIM card. While the inventor of the SIM card (and now of the nano SIM) might have been surprised at the acceptance of the standard by most players in the telecom sector, a new battle has broken out on the front with the kind of implementation the nano SIM would get.
The camp is divided in to two sections with Apple and European carriers on one side and the likes of Nokia, RIM and Motorola on the other. The bone of contention is a new proposal for nano SIM that has been proposed by Apple. This implementation has a “drawer” type holder for the SIM card – similar to what is seen on the iPhone and the iPad. This proposal is being currently reviewed by the ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) and they are scheduled to vote on the acceptance or rejection of the proposal next week.
The other design, details of which are not available is claimed to be having significantly more advantages than that of the proposal by Apple and is being designed by Nokia. This design also has the backing of Motorola and RIM.
Apple has made it clear that they would be licensing their design to all manufacturers. However, there seems to be issues with other players in the handset making business as far as this idea is concerned because they would have to be at the mercy of Apple and their patents if the proposal for this design of the nano SIM goes through.
If all this wasn’t enough, Apple is reportedly making a move that would enable it to increase its voting powers at ETSI by registering six different subsidiaries of Apple – each of them capable of 45 votes each. This move would make them the largest member of ETSI – a position which is currently held by Nokia with 92 votes.
Anyway, as usual grab your popcorn and watch this new battle unravel and depending on who wins it, be ready to brace for a 2012 with more SIM related hassles.
