ABI Research's SIM Card IC market data (MD) is an extension of ABI Research’s ongoing coverage of the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card market. The methodology adopted for calculated SIM card Integrated Circuit (IC) shipments and revenue is derived from an extension of ABI Research's SIM Card MD methodology, as outlined below.
ABI Research tracks cellular network subscriber data on a quarterly basis, generating forecasts according to country and air interface technology. These data are the starting point for the methodology and assumptions that inform this SIM card and IC MD.
Cellular network subscriber data are collated with population data to highlight the level of mobile penetration. For added detail, data are presented for mobile connections according to each major air interface technology. An assumption is made as to the proportion of connections employing a removable SIM card for each air interface technology.
Further splits are included for technology level and device type.
Changes in the installed base (mobile connections) determine the level of organic shipments of SIM cards. To drive out the number of replacement SIM card shipments, a replacement rate is assumed for each device type. An assumption as to the number of spare or additional SIM cards issued is then made. These three combined result in the annual SIM card shipments for each country and region.
To allow the shipment data to be split according to form factor and technology level, the SIM shipments are then analyzed, taking into account factors such as device type, Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) market shares, and market trends.
Further assumptions were made based on analysis and personal briefings related to:
• SIM card Operating System (OS)
• High-end features
• Type of storage/memory
• Storage/memory capacity
• SIM card wholesale Average Selling Price (ASP)
• IC lead time and IC annual shipments
• IC ASPs
ASPs for SIM cards and ICs were combined with annual shipment volumes to drive out the resultant revenue for each product group according to storage/memory capacity.
SIM cards comply with ETSI's specifications for GSM and related mobile networks. It is typically in the form of a removable card (2FF, 3FF or mini SIM, 4FF, or micro SIM), although a new embedded or surface Mounted Form Factor (MFF) is now available for some Machine-to-Machine (M2M) applications.
Mobile connection data were extracted from ABI Research's Network Technology and Market Tracker (MD-NWMT-107).
2G includes GSM, EDGE, and cdma1xRTT air interface technologies.
3G includes WCDMA, HSPA, and cdma2000 air interface technologies.
4G includes WiMAX and LTE air interface technologies.
All other air interface technologies are grouped within the category “Others.”
Device types included within the connection data are mobile phones, smartphones, Universal Serial Bus (USB) modems, Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) tablets, WWAN netbooks/laptops, and M2M devices.
A "spare" SIM card is one that is issued by a Mobile Network Operator (MNO), although it may never be activated. Examples of such issuance include additional replacements for marketing purposes, special offers, bundles, etc.
