NEW DELHI: Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) expects the industrial adoption of 5G, internet of things (IoT) and embedded SIM (eSIM) solutions in India will enable the country to drive the German company's business growth.
“With IoT, 5G and huge demand and potential in eSIM, we already see India as a key market in Asia and even from a global perspective. Our company's board is completely focused on India,” Sachin Arora, head of mobile security division at Giesecke+Devrient MS India, told ETtelecom in an interview.
G+D's Munich headquarters works with India's top private telecom operators and is in talks with a third telecom company. Trust Jio And Bharti Airtel have deployed their 5G networks across India and are focusing on monetization through 5G fixed wireless connections, while Vodafone Idea (Vi) is reportedly planning to launch its 5G network within six to nine months.
“Compared to 4G, 5G will help with key IoT use cases. We see the potential of the eSIMs where you have to use and optimize many devices while taking up less space,” he said.
According to G+D, 5G wireless networks will provide the foundation for innovative IoT use cases in automotive, healthcare, smart cities and logistics, among others.
However, the director added: “The IoT use cases are being slowed down due to certain regulations, or regulatory challenges, lack of stakeholders or lack of components.” He stated that IoT requires the collaboration of stakeholders to develop significant use cases, and the company is actively contributing to the standardization of IoT.
British research firm Juniper Research has predicted that the global number of IoT eSIM connections will reach almost 1.3 billion by 2028, up from 165 million in 2024.
In March 2024, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued comprehensive recommendations for eSIMs in IoT devices, including mandating conversion for Indian telecom carriers within six months to expand the scope of 5G applications across industries.
In doing so, the regulator has sought to address issues in regulating IoT, including applications and applications such as smart meters, agricultural sensors, machine-to-machine (M2M) communications and more, against the backdrop of rapid digitalization across sectors.
The executive said cost-related pressures are the main reason why eSIM is limited to high-end devices, such as smartwatches, and smartphones in India. “…it's only in the higher end phones because the OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) can pass the premium on to consumers.”
Bharti Airtel Managing Director (MD) Gopal Vittal earlier said that eSIM can provide seamless connectivity in a digital-first environment while making it easy for users to track their smartphones in case of theft.
“Mobile operators have not been able to leverage revenue streams solely from the 5G side. They also see that machine-to-machine or IoT would now be the revenue generators,” said Arora.
G+D has 500 employees in India, of which 200 are involved in the development of eSIM hardware and software.
In 2023, the Group achieved an 18% year-on-year turnover increase to three billion euros. That same year, the company invested 490 million euros – an increase of 44% compared to the previous year – in research and development, proprietary technology, fixed assets, mergers and acquisitions, etc., according to a company statement.
