Rumors have circulated for years that Apple, Google and Microsoft would eventually bypass their operator partners by becoming MVNOs and offering their own SIM cards. Google and Apple have gone some way in that direction with embedded SIMs that allow users a free choice of MNO, and now Microsoft has taken its own step forward, offering its own-branded SIM card for selected Windows 10 devices. This will be offered via Transatel, the MVNE (mobile virtual network enabler), and the main target is to get more laptops and tablets connected to the cellular network. According to Transatel, only 5% of notebooks and 10% of tablets currently include a SIM and modem. Though some users get around that by buying dongles, most…