The physical SIM has been a long time dying as instead it has shrunk in size from standard to micro and then the nanoSIM, widely employed on smartphones today. The next step is now coming as smartphone makers embed the device permanently on their circuit boards as embedded SIM (eSIM), but the ultimate move will be integration into the SoC (system-on-chip), where it will share residency with the device operating system and apps. The slow progress reflects inertia across the value chain and reluctance by operators to abandon a model that enforces a certain degree of lock-in, given the need to obtain a porting authorization code (PAC) code from the existing provider when changing to a new one. With the…