Vote on Nano-SIM Standard Delayed Amid Continued Disagreements

Earlier this week, we noted that Apple had offered royalty-free licensing of its proposed design for next-generation "nano-SIM" cards for use in devices connecting to cellular networks, on the condition that its design be selected and that other rights holders offer similar licenses to encourage adoption.

apple nano sim
Prototype of Apple's proposed nano-SIM design inside outline of a mini-SIM card (Source: The Verge)

But as reported by FOSS Patents, the European Telecommunications Standards Institutes (ETSI) has postponed any vote on selecting a standard as the various companies proposing designs continue to squabble over the issue.

According to the report, the participating companies have failed to reach an agreement and decided not to hold the envisioned vote. In accordance with ETSI rules, the vote will now have to be postponed by a minimum of 30 days.

It appears that Nokia's overt unwillingness to license its potentially essential patents in the event that Apple's nano-SIM proposal is adopted and Sandisk's resistance to Nokia's proposal have resulted in an impasse. Sandisk, too, holds patents that may be essential to a new SIM card standard.

Apple is also coming under fire from the other participants in the negotiations, with Research in Motion accusing Apple of hiding its efforts to stack the voting panel by having at least three of its employees re-register for voting purposes as representatives of various carriers.

The RIM letter, which was submitted Wednesday, states that RIM over last few days has observed a number of people from one company changing their affiliation and registering to the meeting representing a completely different company. But voting by proxy during a technical body meeting is not allowed, according to RIM.

The letter highlights four examples, including three supposed Apple employees who have registered for Bell Mobility, KT Corp. and SK Telekom. Since voting by proxy isn't allowed, they should not be allowed to take part in the proceedings, according to RIM.

Apple's proposal is supported by most of the carriers, although it is unclear exactly what Apple's justification is for changing the registered affiliations of its representatives ahead of the previously-planned voting.

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
mac pro creativity

Apple Launched the Controversial 'Trashcan' Mac Pro 11 Years Ago Today

Thursday December 19, 2024 7:00 pm PST by
Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup. The redesign took the Mac Pro in an entirely new direction, spearheaded by a polished aluminum cylindrical design that became unofficially dubbed the "trashcan" in the Mac community. All of ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 2 Redux

Top 5 Apple Products to Look Forward to in 2025

Friday December 20, 2024 2:22 pm PST by
It's looking like 2025 is going to be an important year for Apple, with the company planning to revamp the iPhone, push further into smart home products, and improve Apple Intelligence. There are tons of new products rumored for 2025, including new iPhones, M4 Macs, a smart home command center, and much more. We've highlighted the top five Apple products that will have the biggest impact in...
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro. The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag. Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...

Top Rated Comments

hary536 Avatar
166 months ago
Seems you don't read the articles fully or don't follow the story correctly.
In the leaked docs, it was shown that Apple's proposal actually increases the total area of the sim area(with the required tray). So though actual Sim size is smaller, it requires a tray which in turn increases the space rather than what many uninformed folks like you believe.
Go and read the leaked documents on The Verge or on MacRumors.(not sure, if it was published here).
Nokia's design actually reduces the total sim area giving the benefit of more space for battery and other components as you mentioned.
Open your eyes and ears and then comment.

RIM is going to complain because their marketshare is slipping rapidly. Apple & Android dominate the US marketplace. Other companies do not have the nearly inexhaustible supply of funds for R&D or to build their specialized machines and factories around a specific design.

This would benefit Apple by enabling them to put more buttons and/or more battery in the area comprised by the current SIM. Other companies, who are hard pressed to make their phones smaller, but maintain battery life and/or without getting overly hot (or melting their plastic components) the way Apple can, because they cannot keep up on the development end.

If I were one of the competing companies and I knew that the smaller SIM would in no way benefit my product, but would give a competitive edge to my greatest competitor, Apple, I'd vote against it, too.

Apple will have to come up with another enticing carrot for the competitors if they're going to agree and bite. Android might be on board, but the other smaller manufacturers probably don't see why giving their big competitors more of an edge against them is a smart move.


----------

I dont see why they wont just switch to a Nano sim, will benefit everyone as will free up space and apple have said that they will give the free license out?..

No Brainer to be honest...

Go and read the actual leaked docs and then see whose design actually frees up the space. You will be surprised to know that you were sleeping till now.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Tones2 Avatar
166 months ago
I guess all you fanboys are just ignoring the portion of the story where Apple is attempting to manipulate the voting process. Yes, ignorance is bliss....:rolleyes:

Tony
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
androiphone Avatar
166 months ago
as long as you can use an adaptor to make it a full size sim card so you can switch it to any other phone, I don't care which one wins.

I definitely never ever want no sim at all, what do you do if you you want to take a cheap rubbish phone on a night out?
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
foodog Avatar
166 months ago
Raise your hand if you are sick of the endless patent BS!
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Consultant Avatar
166 months ago
SIM cards allow easy switching of phones, but not sure how applicable it is in today's smartphone world.

<chant>Sim-less, sim-less!</chant>

Yes, that's called CDMA.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Inakto Avatar
166 months ago
I guess they will have to include tweezers and a magnifying glass along with the sim- eject tool in the iPhone 5.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)