The IoT card is a SIM card provided by mobile telecommunication operators for the Internet of Things (IoT), especially in the M2M field, to meet the demand for device networking in the smart hardware and IoT industries. Compared with the existing SIM cards used in cell phones and other cell phones, due to the high demand for card numbers, harsh working environments, and unique tariffs and management requirements, all mobile communication operators have launched SIM cards specifically for the IoT market, i.e., IoT cards.1. Physical forms are currently divided into two types: plug-and-play MP cards and patch-type MS cards. The plug-in MP card is the SIM card commonly used in cell phones and other cell phones, and the patch MS card belongs to the embedded SIM card (eSIM). The specific classification and size of the following table:
MP card (M2M? Plug-In card) includes ordinary MP1 card and industrial MP2 card, according to the different levels of ordinary chip and ordinary card base material, or special chip, special card base material that can adapt to the special environmental requirements. The appearance and pin definition are the same as those of ordinary SIM cards.
MS card (M2M? SMD card) is directly welded to the M2M module to achieve a tight and strong physical connection and reliable interface communication, physical characteristics, electrical characteristics and transmission protocols are the same as ordinary SIM cards, this kind of card in some physical properties, such as adhesion, vibration and other aspects of the more superior performance. It is also divided into general grade MS0 card and industrial grade MS1 card.
Both MS and MP cards have advantages over ordinary SIM cards used in cell phones and other devices in terms of operating environment (temperature, humidity, vibration, interference, etc.) and lifespan (number of readings and writings, etc.).
2. Number segmentsTaking China's three major carriers as an example, in order to facilitate the differentiation and management, special prefixes as well as two lengths of card numbers, ordinary and special, are used, as follows:
3. Functions
Aiming at the application scenarios and characteristics of IoT devices, they are divided into 13-digit number segment cards with [Traffic+SMS+Voice] functions and 11-digit number segment cards with [Traffic+Restricted SMS] functions, as shown above. bit number segment cards, as shown in the table above.
4. Tariffs
The tariffs are flexible and reduce the overall cost to the customer, and the specific tariffs can be found on the official website of each operator. In addition, China Mobile, for example, has added a new test period and a silent period in the entire billing session to meet the needs of customers during the test period, and provides customers with free test traffic and SMS.
5. Application and use
The IoT card is generally not open to ordinary consumers, but is sold in bulk to corporate users under real names; meanwhile, the IoT card has a dedicated APN (service access point). It is because IoT cards generally have an advantage in terms of traffic rates that a large number of IoT cards have appeared on the Internet for ordinary consumers to peddle.
6. Services and operations
The three major domestic carriers all provide IoT card management platforms, assigning dedicated accounts or open APIs to enterprise users to provide services such as over-the-air card writing, location positioning, and traffic management.