European carriers stocking up on nano SIMs before the iPhone 5 launch

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Financial Times just reported that the European operators are stocking up nano SIMs in anticipation of the launch of the next generation iPhone, even before the European Telecommunications Standard Institute (ETSI) approved the SIM.

Apparently carriers are trusting Apple with their life if they have decided to order in a standard that has not even been implemented yet. Of course there is a theory that Apple shared with the operators some top secret information. Apple might have disclosed to carriers that their new mobile terminal will be built around a new type of nano SIM, a SIM that will be 40% smaller than the current card.

This means that the SIM’s life cycle is getting shorter and shorter. Just think of the classic SIM cards also called 2FF – they used to have a life span of over 10 years. With the launch of the first iPad in 2010, the world saw the first micro SIM card also called 3FF and now with the launch of the new iPhone 5 we will see the coming of the 4FF SIM. The new addition to the SIM family will have a life cycle of approximately 2 months.

The change of SIM card standards adds to the growing tendency of smartphone part manufacturers to design smaller, thinner, more attractive and more proficient parts for their devices. SIMs do indeed have the potential of being shrunk down because most of the classic SIMs consists of plastic covering the edges of the cards.

By Radu

Source: European carriers stocking up on nano-SIMs ahead of new iPhone launch

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