achelos eIM (eSIM Remote IoT Manager)

achelos eIM (eSIM Remote IoT Manager) successfully validated with COMPRION SGP.32 test tools.

 

The new GSMA eSIM standard SGP.32 allows to utilise the established SM-DP+ from the SGP.22 standard for Consumer Devices for the remote provisioning of eSIM profiles. A central aspect of the Consumer solution, however, is “user consent” for all profile management operations, which is facilitated through an application on the device, the Local Profile Assistant (LPA).

Since IoT devices usually neither have a user nor a user interface and aim for a fully automated deployment (aka Zero-Touch) a different architecture was required. To achieve this, the role of the SGP.22 LPA was split in two, with one part remaining on the device in the form of the IoT Profile Assistant (IPA) and another part as a newly defined backend component, the eSIM IoT Remote Manager (eIM). This system provides remote control of the IPA without any need for manual intervention at the device.

Implementing software based on a new industry standard such as SGP.32 presents several challenges. They are often lengthy and detailed, making it difficult to fully comprehend and implement all aspects correctly. It requires specialized knowledge and expertise to correctly interpret and implement the standard. Usually, they contain ambiguous language and lack specific guidance, leading to varying interpretations, especially when many interested parties contribute to the standard, each bringing their own understanding to the process.

As a result, compatibility issues are most likely to arise when integrating new software with existing systems that may not fully comply with the standard, especially in a multi-vendor environment, which poses a significant risk during a commercial rollout phase. To address these challenges, it is a good idea to perform early interoperability testing, bringing third party implementations as soon as possible into the development process from companies with a high degree of expertise and experience in that particular technology domain.

Therefore, and in line with achelos’ target to build a fully hardware agnostic solution of the “eSIM Remote IoT Manager” (eIM) that seamlessly integrates with other compliant RSP components in the ecosystem, we chose to work with a partner renowned for its expertise in standards compliance and interoperability testing in general and GSMA eSIM standards in particular – COMPRION.

COMPRION’s Network Bridge comes with a simulation of the “IoT Profile Assistant” (IPA), covering an extensive set of functions, such as:

  • Direct Profile Download Triggered by eIM with Activation Code
  • Profile State Management
  • eIM Configuration Management

This tool, in combination with COMPRION’s iSIMconnect supporting a simulation of an SGP.32 eSIM, provided us a complete setup for interoperability testing of the commercial achelos DP+ and our newly developed eIM implementation.

 

Felix Wolf, Managing Director achelos

“By passing the core eIM test cases as described in the related test standard SGP.33 we have now achieved a major milestone in our eIM solution development. It creates a proven foundation to continue with the onboarding of SGP.32 compliant devices from the market. A first project is already under way using a preproduction version of an SGP.32 chipset. We believe more devices will soon become available and in line with this expectation, we plan the commercial release of the achelos eIM solution during the fourth quarter of 2024.”

 

Jens Christoph, Managing Director COMPRION

“Interoperability always has been key for the Remote SIM Provisioning ecosystem. Therefore, COMPRION is deeply involved in the process, from the creation of new standards, especially the test specifications, to the development of the related test tools. Cooperating with achelos to help them integrating their eIM and SM-DP+ with our simulations of IPA and eUICC once again has proven the benefit of early testing. Especially, if implementations still are missing on the market, simulations assure high quality and thus help to launch products early as important success factor.”

 

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