Annualised 2011 data* highlights increasing SIM card adoption in North America, the rapid growth in M2M and the first significant shipments of NFC-enabled SIM cards.
In total, card shipments by SIMalliance member organisations (who together account for approximately 94% of total volumes) were up 11 % to 4.4 billion cards in 2011.
SIM growth driven by developing markets and America
Developing markets and America drove the industry forward last year, with strong growth in Latin America (+36%), Middle East and Africa (+26 %) and India (+31 %). Shipments to North America continued to increase year on year with a 16 % growth rate seen in 2011.
NFC becoming a volume industry
The burgeoning market for NFC handsets – estimated by Berg Insight to approach some 700 million devices by 2016 – resulted in 16 million NFC SIM cards being shipped in 2011. This is a significant development as, for the first time, shipments have reached sufficient volumes to be included separately in the SIMalliance annual data.
The review also highlights the continued growth in popularity of alternative form factors**. Demand for the 3FF micro-SIM form factor (used primarily in tablet PCs) grew by 63% year on year, while shipments of machine to machine (M2M) SMD (Surface Mounted Device) cards grew by a factor of four between 2010 and 2011. Western European and North American destinations dominate for these cards as well as China for M2M.
Commenting on the figures, Frédéric Vasnier, Chairman of the Board, SIMalliance said: “There’s little doubt that the SIM card – whatever its form factor – remains the default security, identity and access device for today’s mobile network operators, and through them, the end-user. But it was the emergence of M2M and NFC communications as significant sectors in 2011 that causes the real excitement. And as these markets move from emerging to maturing, service providers will increasingly be able to realise the incremental value of their SIM card estates.”
* The data published by SIMalliance in this press release are actual shipments. The actual shipments data is sent on an annual basis by SIMalliance members to an independent third party. There is no direct exchange of data between SIMalliance members. The third party aggregates and anonymises the data so that no SIMalliance member is able to identify another SIMalliance member’s contribution. SIMalliance member shipments represent around 94% of total available market.
** New Form Factors:
3FF stands for 3rd Form Factor.
3FF is a physically smaller SIM card. The electric contacts and circuitry of a Micro-SIM are identical to that of a larger SIM card, the plastic card is simply smaller.
Because size is the only difference, it is possible to make a multi-size SIM card that can be used either as a larger SIM, or as a micro-SIM after breaking away a plastic ring. The SMD (Surface Mounted Device) form factor is a microprocessor used in an embedded system. Embedded processors are only sold to consumers pre-built into embedded systems, not separately.
