Giesecke & Devrient, a supplier of SIM cards, has announced a new collaboration with SIMCOM and u-blox.

 

SIMCOM and u-blox (News - Alert) are manufacturers of M2M. The companies have incorporated special SIMs, which has been specifically developed by G&D for the M2M market.

 

The Swiss module manufacturer u-blox has integrated G&D’s VQFN8 SIM with activated phone number in its ready-to-use u-blox C16 GSM/GPS reference design for telematics applications.

 

The Shanghai-based company SIMCOM has integrated G&D SIM cards in two of its modules, including SIM5218 that can send and receive data via UMTS, HSPA and EDGE.

 

Klaus Vedder, head of the telecommunications division at G&D, said that the company sees tremendous potential for growth in the M2M market. The company is working closely with a number of module manufacturers and network operators to help achieve breakthroughs for M2M technology in as many fields of application as possible.

 

G&D’s M2M portfolio features a broad range of highly durable and long-lasting SIM cards suitable for use in temperatures ranging from minus 40 to plus 105 degrees Celsius.

 

Company officials said that the modules that form the centerpiece of any M2M application have virtually the same architecture as that of modern cellular phones. However, they are integrated in a variety of applications.

 

Some of these applications place high demands on the modules’ SIMs. Company officials said that this is one of the reasons G&D began developing SIM cards for the M2M market at such an early stage.

 

Munich, Germany-based G&D is an international technology provider. The company offers smart card solutions for telecommunications and electronic payment, and security documents and identification systems.

 

Recently, the company became the sole shareholder in Venyon Oy, a service manager on the mobile near-field communication market, by acquiring the shares held by Nokia (News - Alert). G&D reportedly held a majority of the shares before the acquisition.