The full-size SIM card may lend itself more easily to future services, said Powertel Inc., a U.S. wireless operator that has contracted to buy handsets from one of two manufacturers offering the feature.
Two sizes of Subscriber Identity Modules are being deployed by U.S. operators using Global System for Mobile communications technology for personal communications services at 1900 MHz.
One SIM is the size of a postage stamp and slips into a slot in the phone, often beneath the battery; the other is the size of a credit card and slides into the phone vertically, either from the top or bottom.
“We believe the cards are very smart now, but it’s possible to get more information and services into this chip than what we have now,” said Jim Murrell, Powertel vice president of marketing.
SIM cards don’t contain magnetic strips. A central processing chip, one-half inch by one-half inch, is embedded in the plastic card. The chip not only has memory but also can have intelligence and the ability to make decisions, marking the evolution from a memory card to a smart card.
Card manufacturers, computer companies and various industries are moving to standardize smart card technology so it can be globally used by businesses and consumers. The Smart Card Forum and the Personal Computer/Smart Card Workgroup hope standards can drive the market.
PCS operators Western Wireless Inc. and BellSouth Mobility DCS offer phone models for either size SIM application. Both operators have several networks up.
Powertel intends to offer both options to customers as well. It has agreed to buy g1050 PCS 1900 handsets with the full-size SIM from Siemens Wireless Terminals of Dallas. The multi-year contract is valued at $30 million.
Powertel also is receiving full-size SIM terminals from Motorola Inc. Motorola has two phone models that accept a full-size SIM cards. One has been sold in Europe for several years. Supporters of the full-size SIM say it is easier to slide the larger card in and out of the phone. Proponents of the smaller SIM card say the larger one is a move away from miniaturization of the handset.
“The promise of the future is to roam with nothing more than a SIM card,” Murrell said. Powertel holds A- and B-block licenses in Atlanta, Jacksonville, Fla., Memphis/Jackson, Tenn., and Birmingham, Ala. When launched later this year and in 1997, the networks will cover more than 16 million people in a 180,000 continuous square-mile service area.
Ericsson Radio Systems Inc. is supplying the infrastructure and handsets with small-size SIMs. Nokia Mobile Phones also will provide small-SIM handsets.
West Point, Ga.-based Powertel is a subsidiary of Intercel Inc., which owns and operates cellular systems in Georgia, Alabama and Maine.
