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TRAI Issues New eSIM Rules to Boost M2M Communication in India

M2M

Business Honor
25 March, 2025

Regulations mandate local eSIM profiles, enhance security, and expand 5G-driven M2M services.

In March 2024, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released recommendations to strengthen the regulatory environment for machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, specifically targeting the use of embedded SIMs (eSIMs) in Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The recommendations are intended to support the M2M eSIM market in India's telecom industry and promote the growth of a local M2M eSIM ecosystem.

One of the prominent recommendations requires all eSIMs on imported equipment running on international roaming in India to switch to profiles of Indian telecom service providers (TSPs) within six months of activation or on a change of device ownership, whichever is earlier. This step aims to allow M2M devices to be compliant with domestic laws and run securely on the national telecom network.

TRAI suggests a system for eSIM profile switching and SM-SR swapping. The system is aimed at giving more flexibility to M2M eSIM users and encouraging healthy competition among service providers.

The proposals state that SM-SR sites, which provide encrypted operator credentials to SIMs, must be operated solely by entities with unified access service licenses or their variants. This requirement gives local profile installation by equipment makers and M2M service providers a choice of implementing local profiles in installed foreign SM-SRs already present or locally in India.

The implementation of these recommendations should facilitate the creation of M2M communications in India in a well-organized way, based on technologies such as 5G to enable applications to become more widespread across industries like agriculture, transportation, healthcare, and industrial control. By embracing a robust regulatory environment, TRAI aims to foster innovation as well as protect the installation of M2M technologies throughout India.