Callup to Provide Remote SIM Card Management System to WOM

The use of SIM cards on mobile devices is seen as an inconvenience by many users. And according to a report in the Financial Times, two of the largest manufacturers of smart mobile devices, Apple and Samsung, are in advanced talks to start using electronic SIM cards in their devices. This will introduce new levels of interoperability between carriers so consumers don’t have to be locked in to a single service provider. But the report also goes on to say it is not yet available, and until that time comes, operators are looking to make SIM cards more efficient.

Chilean telecom WOM has obtained the services of Callup, an Israeli based provider of value added services and mobile device management solutions for the telecom industry, to manage its SIM cards remotely.

The Callup SIM OTA platform lets operators control their SIM cards and dongles remotely so they can more effectively manage the entire lifecycle of the cards. Every transaction that has been carried out with a specific SIM card can be monitored, this includes activation of new accounts, upgrades, roaming updates, cancellations and swaps.

The platform is SIM vendor agnostic, and it provides an remote file management, remote applet management, steering of roaming, location tracking, welcome SMS, prioritizing cellular operator selection during roaming as well as other remote over the air SIM operations. All of the SIM OTA settings can be managed remotely over the air through a website, which includes a built-in Short Message Service Center (SMSC) to simplify the process.

Christopher Bannister, CEO of WOM, said: “Callup’s SIM OTA allows us to manage our SIM cards more effectively, helps us in our growth plans and enhances our competitiveness and customer service, saving time, effort and resources.”

This type of access to the SIM card gives operators new sets of tools to manage existing deployments and update new parameters as they are implemented. The MDM+ platform makes it possible to remotely manage applets according to ETSI SCP TS 102 226 and 3GPP TS 31.116. By fully supporting data channels over the air, SIM OTA is also compliant with BIP standard protocols ETSI TS 102 223 Smart Cards, Card Application Toolkit (CAT) along other ETSI TS 102 xxx standards.

Data sessions can be initiated using a push SMS message that starts a session with the card, or the card can initiate the data session. This gives WOM the ability to issue control commands on SIM cards using the rich API or through the user interface.

Until electronic SIM cards are fully adopted, operators will have to implement solutions that gives them more control over their subscribers. The Callup SIM OTA provides a range of options without disrupting the end user.