eUICC (embedded
UICC) refers to the architectural standards published by the
GSM Association
The GSM Association (GSMA) is a non-profit trade association that represents the interests of mobile network operators worldwide. More than 750 mobile operators are full GSMA members and a further 400 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem ar ...
(GSMA)
or implementations of those standard for
eSIM
An eSIM (embedded SIM) is a form of SIM card that is embedded directly into a device as software installed onto a eUICC chip. First released in March 2016, eSIM is a global specification by the GSMA that enables remote SIM provisioning; end ...
, a device used to securely store one or more
SIM card
A typical SIM card (mini-SIM with micro-SIM cutout)A SIM card or SIM (subscriber identity module) is an integrated circuit (IC) intended to securely store an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) number and its related key, which are u ...
profiles, which are the unique identifiers and cryptographic keys used by
cellular network
A cellular network or mobile network is a telecommunications network where the link to and from end nodes is wireless network, wireless and the network is distributed over land areas called ''cells'', each served by at least one fixed-locatio ...
service providers to uniquely identify and securely connect to mobile network devices. Applications of eUICC are found in mobile network devices (cell phones, tablets, portable computers, security controllers, medical devices, etc.) that use GSM cellular network eSIM technology.
Standards
The core standards that define eUICC are published by the GSM Association in two topical areas.
Consumer and IOT
Core standards for implementing eSIM on mobile devices include the following articles:
ref name="SGP.21">
eSIM IoT Architecture and Requirement SpecificationSGP 22 Remote Sim Provisioning(RSP) Architecture for consumer Devices
Machine to Machine (M2M)
GSMA publishes standards for machine-to-machine (M2M) third-party provisioning of eSIM which includes the following articles:
v4.2
SGP.02 eSIM Technical SpecificationsV4.2.1
Implementation
eUICC can refer to any implementation or application of the eUICC standards in an eSIM device. Each implementation of eUICC includes software code, a processor to emulate the software, non-volatile memory used to store the unique identifiers and cryptographic keys that are part of a SIM profile, and a bus interface to communicate the SIM profile to the mobile device. eUICC standards specify that only one eUICC security controller (ECASD) may be implemented in an eSIM, but the eSIM may store multiple SIM profiles.
EID
GSMA standards define EID as "eUICC Identifier".
Some developers / implementers have referred to this using the descriptive term "eSIM identifier", which summarizes the function of an eUICC Identifier. Some third parties have joined this acronym with the term "electronic identity document", which is a general concept of any identifier stored or presented in electronic format.
References
{{Reflist
Architecture