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To use all the functions of your phone, such as calling your friends and using the Internet, you first have to insert a SIM card into it. But what is the history of SIM cards, why is this module so important, and what happens if you try to call without such a chip?
The most significant milestone in the development of cellular communications was GSM networks, which are still widely used today. It was GSM that brought us roaming between cellular carriers and SIM cards. This communication chip is the heart of your smartphone. It’s a small microcomputer with a processor, RAM, and operating system. All of this is on a small piece of plastic that we used to put in the phone.
Let’s learn the world of cellular communication, types of SIM cards and how they allow people worldwide to stay in touch.
What is a SIM card, and how it works?
A modern smartphone is a high-tech tool, filled with updated processors, Wi-Fi functions, GPS spot, Bluetooth, microphones, etc. Most of these devices and systems are self-sufficient and can work independently. But to make calls, use mobile data, and send text messages, you need a SIM chip.
Modern SIMs are small modules containing a chip that must be inserted into a smartphone before it operates. The definition “SIM” means Subscriber Identity Module, and the given title perfectly reflects what a SIM card does. This is a miniature tool for using cellular data, which determines who you are on the network. It includes the network you are subscribed to, your mobile phone number, and what data you can use. So if you delete the SIM card you don’t get a signal.
The SIM chip contains a particular cell phone number and provides functions: mobile calls, sending text messages, and more. Your mobile phone can operate without a SIM card, but only as a camera or a device for online activity. You can not call or write SMS without SIM card.
Types of SIM cards: Features and Differences
Before choosing a mobile gadget, determine which types of SIM cards are placed in this device.
Many users believe there is a regular SIM card, and there are small ones. However, those cards that we used to call ordinary are a mini format. The very first physical SIMs had the size of typical plastic bank cards and were used in the late 90s of the last century. After a while, in the new century, the developers invented a new format of mini-SIM, considered today to be ordinary cards.
Today, in terms of size, mobile chips are classified into 3 different types of sim cards:
- Mini-SIM. This is a regular mobile sim chip. Its standard size is 25 × 15 millimeters. If cell phones were released before 2011, you could be sure that Mini sim cards are inserted into such gadgets. Such a chip is too large for modern gadgets, but this does not mean that the Mini-SIM is rarely used. Standard mini cards are used in simple and cheap models of the last generation and push-button phones.
- Micro-SIM. Apple first used this mobile chip option for the iPhone 4. The dimensions of the Micro-SIM are 15×12 millimeters. Nowadays, Micro-SIM is installed in an overwhelming number of smartphones. After Apple, Nokia began to create devices for micro SIM cards, which equipped its Lumia devices with Micro slots. Then, HTC, Samsung, and BlackBerry joined them.
- Nano-SIM. The newest and smallest mobile phone chip. Its size is only 12 × 5 millimeters. Visually, given modules come with a minimum of plastic edging. The nano-sims innovator was Apple again. It was the Nano-SIM that customers had to insert into the iOS gadgets of the 5th modification.
eSIM Technology
The newest SIM card option is an electronic module — eSIM. This is an embedded module, a special chip on the phone’s motherboard that stores user data, thanks to which the cellular Network can identify a person. Online registration and data download are done in the OTA (Over The Air) system so that everything can be done remotely.
One of the main electronic sim card differences is that people can use the services of various carriers or change a particular operator. To do this, a person does not need to visit a land-based telecom store for a new SIM module. If users want to change the phone, it’s enough to delete current data from the old gadget and upload it to the new one. You can find more details on how the eSIM card works in our previous article.
Another advantage of eSIM is using the same number on several different gadgets. An electronic module also allows you to use the same data and transmit it on several other phones. But this largely depends on the eSIM provider, and your current carrier. As a result, using the built-in chip you can forget about changing SIM cards and access points. Unlike the physical SIM, you can also connect the eSIM to the smartwatch and continue to use mobile calls and SMS already through. All these features became possible thanks to sharing a profile and an internet connection.
Moreover, eSIM chips are indispensable when traveling abroad, because they allow you to purchase a plan with a local operator data at any time, even remotely, and use it almost immediately without disconnecting your main SIM card, which saves time and costs and allows you to stay in touch all the time.
Summary
The history of SIM cards is still developing. Electronic cards are the future for many reasons. The given module is soldered into the “stuffing” of the gadget, so it is impossible to lose or forget it somewhere, damage it, insert it incorrectly, or break it. Also, users no longer need to take the card out of the slot, which means any breakdowns and damage to the module are excluded. In addition, a digital chip is a more environmentally friendly option than a physical one because plastic is not used for production. And it is much more convenient and cheaper to use eSIM when traveling to another country.
