COMPRION recently launched their eSIM Tracer software solution which allows the user to analyse data exchanged between the eSIM and the device using it, a capability that has previously not been offered to a growing eSIM user base. Dr Marcus Dormanns, Business Development Manager at COMPRION, spoke to IoT Insider to shed some light on the market need for such a solution.
A unique tool
The convenience and ease of use in switching between operator profiles without a physical SIM has driven the rise in eSIM adoption, among other factors. However, for instances in which the eSIM does fail, traditional methods of analysis can be time-consuming. Thanks to COMPRION’s specialty in creating testing tools for SIMs and eSIMs, it was able to apply this expertise to designing a sufficient software solution that would cut out time and expense for device users puzzling about what went wrong with their eSIM.
“It addresses a use case which is well-known and well understood,” explained Dormanns. “Because the SIM card is a pluggable piece, you can put some adapters in between and analyse the interaction between the SIM and the device. When chipset manufacturers and device manufacturers engineer a new chipset and/or device, they need to check that it is interoperable with the SIM card.”
However, because eSIMs aren’t physical cards, they can’t be plugged into, which is where the main challenge rests.
“Chipset and device manufacturers decided not to provide an out of the box, open interface for this, they didn’t see a need … but our customers have asked us again and again, saying that we have a product for SIM-based devices and they need something similar for the eSIM. That was the trigger to think about how we can make such a product happen,” said Dormanns.
The software solution operates by accessing communication data exchanged between the eSIM and mobile radio module in real time. It is connected to the device by plugging it into the USB port of a laptop running the software.
In the announcement, an adapter compatible with Qualcomm’s processors has been developed, owing to the fact that Qualcomm’s processors are used in a wide variety of mobile devices – a canny approach to ensuring the solution is accessible by as many people as possible.
In order for the eSIM Tracer to work, COMPRION needs access to data from both the chipset and the device. “We have in-depth and trustworthy relationships and chipset vendors,” Dormanns detailed, “we’ve been working with them on standardisation of technology for many years, and that’s been a huge asset.”
The collaboration with Qualcomm is the first step. Currently, the company is having conversations with a main smartphone company, the name of which Dormanns couldn’t share, as well as working on a proof-of-concept with another company.
Recorded ADPU (application protocol data unit) commands are displayed in a way that makes the analysis of interactions between the eSIM and device easy to understand. This was an important touchpoint for COMPRION in the designing of their software, because there are not many people who are able to understand the recorded information, i.e. the recorded interactions between eSIM and device, as it is presented.
“We translate binary-encoded data into something which is readable by people,” said Dormanns. “We are following the same methodology with a lot of other products we offer, and this makes the tool valuable for people.
“It allows users like me to work with a tool because I don’t have all the specifications in my brain and I would be totally lost.”
There is reportedly no identical tool on the market able to analyse information between eSIM and device. The closest comparisons are those that can operate with SIM-based devices, according to Dormanns, demonstrating that this is a unique tool indeed.
“We have two main themes in the roadmap of this tool: the first part will be to make it more comfortable and more feature-rich in terms of capabilities to analyse the data. Secondly, we will make it available for more chipsets and devices,” concluded Dormanns.
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