Ericsson has announced a system for automated provisioning and management of devices incorporating embedded SIMs (eSIMs). This could help its operator customers to retain control of these devices, even though an eSIM can be provisioned by non-telcos and so enable users to move from one network to another. It could also, of course, allow Ericsson to seize opportunities to provide device management platforms for enterprise and Internet of Things networks, bypassing the MNO altogether. The eSIM has been a source of great controversy in the mobile industry for years now. The operator body, the GSMA, led standardization, aiming to shield its members from the obvious threats of losing their chief instrument of user control, the MNO-provisioned SIM card. The operators…