Verification, authentication, activation
Airtel Africa has armed itself with Nokia’s iSIM Secure Connect in a bid to address ten mass markets without sacrificing the integrity of its subscriber management. Nokia is delivering it as a continuous software service (SaaS) rather than a self-managed product installation, since the management of machine-to-machine and consumer device subscriptions for any devices connected through eSIM and iSIM interfaces is a constantly evolving art requiring specialised skills.
The good thing about iSIM is that it instantly improves the customer experience, according to Razvan Ungureanu, Airtel’s chief technology and information officer. Nokia is also making life easier for the mobile network operator to new enrol consumer devices onto the network. This gives this technology instant impact in Africa, where the geography makes logistics a challenge. The convenience will empower local comms service providers to mobilise the services of the Internet of things through its support of eSIM IoT devices, according to CTO Ungureanu.
“We are expanding a long-standing partnership and Nokia iSIM technology gives us verification and authentication while the customers get the new services they are increasingly looking for,” said Ungureanu.
This could be useful across a huge variety of terrains that are covered by the ten African territories that Airtel services, said a spokesperson. Farming is one of the industries that could instantly benefit from adopting eSIM IoT devices, according to Nokia. Using the Integrated SIM (iSIM) and embedded SIM (eSIM), Airtel will gain the ability to remotely store and manage multiple subscriptions for authenticating users and devices on its network. Earlier this year, Nokia supported Airtel in deploying iSIM Secure Connect in Nigeria. In the course of 2023 Airtel plans to roll out the solution in 10 other African markets, it said.
There is a simple, three-part action plan to digitally transform lives: verification, authentication and activation, according to Rajiv Aggarwal, Head of Central, East and West Africa (CEWA) Market Unit at Nokia. “We envision a world that is more productive with the digitalization capabilities we build for our operator customers,” said Aggarwal.