Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) presents the world’s smallest SIM card: the nano-SIM. A third smaller than the micro-SIM, the nano-SIM enables manufacturers to produce devices that are even thinner and perform even better. This new development from G&D could be finding its way into the first mobile devices as early as next year.
Some 20 years on from producing the first ever SIM cards, G&D is leading the current trend towards smaller cards. At the CARTES & IDentification 2011 trade show in Paris, the Munich-based technology group is displaying the world’s smallest SIM card to date.
Measuring approximately 12mm x 9mm, the nano-SIM is about 30 percent smaller than the micro-SIM. The thickness of the cards has been reduced by about 15 percent – a tremendous technical challenge. Compared to the SIM cards most widely used today, the nano-SIM is almost 60 percent smaller. It offers device manufacturers the crucial advantage of freeing up extra space for other mobile phone components, such as additional memory or larger batteries. And because nano-SIM cards are significantly smaller and thinner, they will also make it easier to create thinner devices.
Initial samples were made available by G&D to various mobile network operators for testing. The standardization of the nano-SIM is expected to be implemented through the ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) by the end of the year.
Backward compatibility with older device models is ensured by an adapter solution that allows the nano-SIM to be integrated into all established mobile devices for universal use.
