SIM Identifier Reuse for IoT Provisioning Cost Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
The high infrastructure and provisioning costs associated with deploying a large number of connected devices in the Internet of Things (IoT) are prohibitive due to the need for unique SIM identifiers and related data storage, which increases financial burdens on companies, especially when many devices remain inactive or unused.
Innovation Solution
A system that reuses SIM identifiers among multiple devices, with a SIM authorization server providing new identifiers upon activation, reducing the need for extensive infrastructure and data storage, allowing devices to generate new identifiers if activation fails, and using a sequence of identifiers to manage connections efficiently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a unique SIM identifier is provided for every connected device, then each device can be individually authenticated and connected to the network, but the infrastructure costs (storage, provisioning, database requirements) increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
A pool of SIM identifiers is created that can be dynamically allocated to multiple devices. The same identifier from the pool can be reused across different devices at different times, allowing the infrastructure to support a large number of devices with a limited set of identifiers. This is achieved through a provisioning server that manages the pool and allocates identifiers on-demand.
Solution Approach 2:
The SIM identifier allocation system transitions from static (one identifier per device permanently) to dynamic (identifiers allocated and deallocated from a pool). Devices can be provisioned with identifiers from the pool when needed and have them revoked when no longer needed, allowing the same identifier to serve multiple devices over time. This dynamic approach reduces the total number of identifiers required in the infrastructure.
2Ease of operation
If SIM identifiers are pre-provisioned for all potential devices, then devices can be activated at any time without additional provisioning, but the upfront infrastructure costs and storage requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
A pool of SIM identifiers is pre-configured and made available in the provisioning server before devices need them. When a device requests activation, it can immediately receive an identifier from the pre-prepared pool without requiring additional provisioning steps. This eliminates the need for complex on-demand identifier generation while still avoiding the need to store identifiers for all potential devices indefinitely.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the state of identifier availability from permanent storage to temporary allocation. Identifiers in the pool are maintained in a ready state but are not permanently bound to any specific device until allocation occurs. This parameter change allows the infrastructure to support rapid device activation while keeping the total number of stored identifiers manageable through reuse.
3Productivity
If a large number of SIM identifiers are stored in the network infrastructure, then all devices can be supported simultaneously, but the storage costs and database requirements scale linearly with the number of devices
Solution Approach 1:
When a device is deactivated or its SIM identifier is revoked, the identifier is not permanently discarded but recovered and returned to the pool for reuse by other devices. This recovering process allows the same storage space and identifier resources to be utilized by multiple devices over time, breaking the linear scaling relationship between the number of devices and required storage capacity.
Data Source
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AI summary
We describe a system for activating SI Ms, where the system comprises more SI Ms than will be authorised for use on a mobile network. The system comprises a plurality of SIMs, each of the SIMs being configured to provide a first SIM identifier. The first SIM identifiers are reused amongst said plurality of SIMs such that one of the SIMs may provide the same SIM identifier as another of the SIMs. The system includes a SIM authorisation server configured to receive the first SIM identifier from a SIM requesting activation and, in response, to provide a new SIM identifier. The new SIM identifier enables the SIM requesting activation to communicate traffic over the mobile network.