Tension Abounds as Highly Anticipated SGP.32 Certification Arrives; Carriers Are Under Pressure to Adopt Early and Scale Fast

Certifications are beginning for SGP.32 solutions, with commercial launches scheduled to ramp up through 2026. With SGP.32 ratification delayed, many are hoping for rapid deployment to make up for lost time. Beginning in Western Europe and North America, with some movement in Asia-Pacific and then the rest of the world, SGP.32 adoption will be a massive international undertaking, even with anticipatory compliant solutions having prepared the market.

Specific industries such as energy management have been particularly anticipating this moment, and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) will need to develop capabilities rapidly to meet their needs. The technological improvements of SGP.32 and the commercial benefits of a standardized ecosystem will see adoption from a mix of customers—completely new to Embedded Subscriber Identity Module (eSIM) integration, and those evolving from an existing solution. This transition from SGP.02 solutions to SGP.32 will be a challenge to the market, with smooth adoption hindered by a lack of a standardized path during the process. This means that successful SGP.32 solutions must be highly interoperable, with painless management of hybrid fleets being a key concern for first adopters.

The limited availability of labs for device certification is also a challenge, with delays in certification stages hindering adoption. This will be ameliorated by a growing emphasis on pre-certified, modular design, enabling manufacturers to integrate SGP.32-certified capability with minimal delay.

While Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) are building capacity on a cross-vertical basis, the strongest early demand is coming from smart metering and energy management, transportation, and logistics. Drivers for this demand vary depending on market maturity, with newer and smaller players assured of future-proofing and ease of switching. However, this is less of a focus for mature players with large device fleets, primarily driven by ease of seamless global coverage.

The biggest drivers for adoption are:

• Ability to deploy and activate a device anywhere globally with a single manufacturing Stock Keeping Unit (SKU).
• Long-term flexibility and commercial independence from providers, as well as being a strategic benefit, is a policy requirement for new deployments with some customers.
• Relative cost of ongoing maintenance—energy management, for example, involves high cost and logistical overhead to manage devices in the field without Over-the-Air (OTA) capability.

Targeting those for whom these are top priorities and moving quickly to provide capability to those who have waited impatiently for ratification will enable operators and solution providers to capture early growth. But for long-term market share, the key differentiators will be:

• Seamless, High-Quality Global Coverage: For many in the Internet of Things (IoT) market, the key issue is mitigating problem areas in the coverage map—particularly where local regulation or network quality pose a challenge. The ability to analyze and resolve these issues effectively will be key, meaning providers with high degrees of international collaboration and regional intelligence will have the highest opportunity to maintain strong margins.
• Ease of Activation: For many manufacturers, the point of SGP.32 usage is that a device can be shipped anywhere, with Remote SIM Provisioning (RSP) ensuring no disruption to the manufacturing process. Providing scalable, highly reliable, and easily managed device activations will ensure long-term success.
• Flexibility: Before SGP.32 even made headway, questions of long-term implementation choices are at the fore, particularly for large, mature customers. While initial solutions will primarily be end-to-end and highly managed, for long-term success, suppliers will need to accommodate the varying needs of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) with the ability to seamlessly allow ownership of specific infrastructure components and design choices, such as IoT Profile Assistant in the eUICC (IPAe) or IoT Profile Assistant in the IoT Device (IPAd).